The Clear Sky
by Eumoiriety
Summary: Thirteen years ago, Sawada Natsume was born. Ten years ago, a mysterious brunet showed up at the Sawada family's front door. Now, the two boys live with each other as brothers. When Reborn comes to train Natsume into Vongola Decimo, he wasn't expecting to find two boys, much less one with a secret that goes back 400 years in time. OOC Tsuna.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

**Beta'ed by ShamelessDilettante**

* * *

For Nana, everything began on that one beautiful afternoon.

Looking back on it, it seemed so ironic that the worst day of her life had started out so wonderfully. Her husband had returned home after years of grueling work, and he seemed so nicely acquainted with his boss, an old man named Timoteo. Iemitsu had then spent the rest of the day with his son, Natsume, and Nana couldn't help but to feel her heart warm at the sight of the two most important people in her life being so close together.

When Iemitsu announced that he had to leave, she pulled her face into a pout. "Visit soon next time," she said warmly, and her husband just gave her the smile that she loved. After giving him a quick hug, Nana stepped back into the doorway, tugging Natsume gently out from behind her.

"Come on, Na-kun," she coaxed softly, pulling at the child's small fingers, which elicited a confused look. "What do you say?"

The three-year old child brightened. "Good-bye!" Twittering his fingers, he peered at Iemitsu with uncertain brown eyes before vanishing behind his mother's dress.

Nana smiled and kissed Iemitsu farewell, watching sadly as her husband began to walk away. More than often she wished that the three of them—Iemitsu, Natsume, and herself—could spend more time together as a family. But alas, Iemitsu had his job to return to, and wishing him to stay was selfish. She could deal.

When her husband was out of sight, Nana regretfully tugged at her son and urged him back into the house. Natsume complied and ran in, blond hair flying, settling down with his toy cars and planes and began to play. She smiled; she could never get tired of this sight, because it was simply too endearing. Out of habit she checked the clock, humming lightly to herself when she realized that she needed to cook dinner. No matter, she could get started now.

But the moment she stepped into the kitchen the doorbell rang, and she frowned. She had just left the entrance, too. Fixing a smile onto her face, she made her way to the front door, expecting to see her husband saying that he had forgotten something. It had happened before, and she wouldn't put it past him to do something so careless. Iemitsu had always been that way.

So she was surprised when instead of seeing her husband scratching his head sheepishly, she saw an absolute stranger. A teenage boy stood before her, clad entirely in black, with his back straight but shoulders slouched, looking perfectly at ease. Hazel eyes, so similar to Natsume's (and hers), regarded her warmly, a small but distantly polite smile adorning his face. Gravity-defying brown hair bobbed as he shifted slightly—how strange, she thought vaguely. It was the same color as her own.

"This is the Sawada residence, correct?" the stranger inquired.

Nodding blankly, she quickly fixed her own smile. "And you are?"

Before she knew what was happening, the stranger sank to his knees, taking one of her hands and turning it over gently. "My name is Tsunayoshi," he breathed, "but please call me Tsuna. It is an honor to meet you, Sawada Nana-san." He brushed his lips over her skin, and Nana could feel her cheeks heating as she stepped back and pulled her hand away.

It was the sound of the quiet, rapid footsteps from behind her that forced her to pull her mind together, and suddenly she remembered that her son, too, was in the house. "Mama," Natsume called, skidding to a stop beside her. "Who is that, Mama?"

Tsuna crouched down and smiled at the young child. "You must be Sawada Natsume-kun, pleased to meet you." Raising his eyes, he dipped his voice politely and asked, "May I come in?"

Feeling like she couldn't do anything but agree, she stepped to the side and allowed the brunet entrance. It was a stupid move, she knew, but she couldn't help it. A minute later she found the three of them sitting in the living room, sipping the tea that she had provided. She couldn't help but to note the casual grace of all of his movements.

Silence reigned as the brunet quietly sipped his tea, interrupted by the occasional sounds that Natsume gave as he moved his toy cars across the floor. When Nana had moved to chide him earlier, Tsuna had assured her that it was fine.

The glass clacked sharply as Tsuna set the teacup down, and he leaned forward earnestly in his chair. "Now, to business. You may be wondering why I know you and your son's names," he began, and Nana started as she realized it for the first time. "Relax—your husband has talked about you a lot, and how he loves you two. I am an acquaintance of his, I suppose. I am here to notify you first of the true nature of his job, and then to offer you two proposals. Will you hear me out?"

Nana nodded, wondering what he could possibly say about her husband's job. He was just a construction worker, after all…

…one that travelled all around the world in search of oil…

Nana wasn't a fool. Despite her airy façade, she knew perfectly well that Iemitsu was hiding something from her, something big. His lies were always so outrageous that she couldn't help but be suspicious. The first time that she had wondered why he was lying so much, her imagination had nearly caused her depression. But even though she knew that he was keeping something as simple as his line of work from her, something which all husbands and wives should know, she couldn't help but to still be head-over-heels in love with him. Love was such an irritating thing.

She folded her hands into her lap, meeting the brunet's gaze with a careful wariness, because she knew, most likely unconsciously, she knew that she needed all of her wits to talk with the teenager in front of her. "I will hear you out, but I will have to see on the proposals."

"Of course," Tsuna smiled amicably, too amicably for an ordinary teenager. She could feel the beginnings of adrenaline to slide through her veins, making everything sharper, too sharp.

Maintaining the cordial smile, the teenager began to speak. "Your husband, no matter what he says about being a construction worker, is not one. Of course, you already suspect it, don't you?" Nana's throat constricted painfully: it was one thing to suspect it, but it was another thing entirely to hear a confirmation from somebody else. "Then that makes explaining easier. Your husband, Sawada Iemitsu, is none other than a member of the Vongola family, the most influential of all in the mafia. Hush now," he said, waving off her terrified protests. "Think for a moment. His job is able to keep you and your son living with all the finances you could possibly need. He leaves you here because he doesn't want you to be involved in the underground society. He has been doing a good job of it, too."

The world spun dangerously. "But—"

"Don't worry," Tsuna said calmly, and she had to suppress a snort. Her husband was a criminal, he could die any second, and the brunet told her to not worry? "The Vongola family is not like the others that you might hear about. It was originally founded to protect civilians, not to terrorize them. Iemitsu is strong, too. He's not called the Young Lion of the Vongola for nothing."

But it wasn't reassuring at all. Feeling disoriented and horrified, she watched as Natsume ran back into the room, calling "Vroom!" as he pretended that the airplane in his hand was flying. The brunette immediately caught her son and walked him to his room, not wanting him to hear the rest of the conversation, and she needed the space and air to breathe. It was too much to absorb all at once. To her relief, Tsuna just nodded sympathetically and told her to take as much time as she needed.

When she returned she was as pale as snow, trying to adjust to the knowledge. It wasn't as if she didn't understand why Iemitsu had done so; on the contrary, she would have done the same thing had their positions been reversed. But she couldn't help but to feel the pain of betrayal, and of the cold, cold fear for his transient life. Suddenly the happy, easygoing life was gone: she knew it was gone, that it was gone forever, because she could never again think about her family in the same way ever again. In a span of a few minutes, Tsuna had single-handedly flipped her world upside-down.

"How do you know all this?" she asked anxiously.

Tsuna's hazel eyes caught hers, and his gaze softened. "I am, like you suspect, also a member of the mafia. However, I do not work in a family. You don't need to worry about me harming you or your son—if I wished to, I could have killed you a long time ago. I am simply here to give you this information. You are not as airheaded as your husband makes you seem, and you, as his wife, has the right to know all of this. As for why I know about him, Sawada Iemitsu is a man in a high position of power. He is famous in the mafia world."

So her husband was potentially on the top of many assassins' hit lists. Desperately hoping for no more, she asked, "Anything else?"

But life seemed to want to screw with her even further: her stomach dropped to her feet when he nodded his head regretfully. "The real reason why I am here today is to tell you how your son will be involved in all this."

"My son?" Her voice cracked, and she couldn't breathe.

"Natsume-kun is a distant heir of the first boss of the Vongola. Events will take place in the future which will make him a candidate for the next Vongola boss. When this happens, he will be sought out by the entire mafia world. The number one assassin in the world will come to tutor him on the behalf of the Vongola. Other hitmen will seek this house out to eliminate the heir in order to throw the Vongola into chaos."

"Na-kun…Na-kun is going to become a Mafioso?" Her voice kept rising until she was screaming, fists balled in helpless rage. Why had Iemitsu hid something of this magnitude from her? Shaking her head in silent denial she stepped backwards, her feet colliding into the couch as she did so, and though it scooted with a loud screech, she didn't register it, she couldn't register it anymore. All she could think about was Natsume, her beloved son, locked in his room filled with children's toys and books and games. Her son, a killer?

Then Tsuna was on his feet, pressing his index finger gently against her lips. "Quiet," Tsuna chided softly, "or else Natsume-kun will hear. And yes, that is exactly what I'm saying, which leads me to my proposals.

"One," he began, raising a finger to emphasize his point. "My first proposal is that you 'forget' everything I just told you. Act like nothing happened; become the very definition of the airheaded mother that your husband believes you to be. Do not draw suspicion about having this knowledge to yourself or your son. Do not, in any way, shape, or form, seek out the mafia. The moment you take a step too far, it is far too late to turn back.

"Two. Let me stay here in the Sawada residence. I can keep you two safe. I can keep your son ignorant for as long as possible, until Reborn shows up. I can make sure he gets the ordinary childhood he deserves. I can make sure that no word of this knowledge reaches any unfriendly ears. Adopt me as your child, do whatever—just find a way for me to stay here without raising much suspicion. So what do you say?"

Nana mulled it over quickly, but she could already feel the metaphorical box forming around her. She was trapped, bound by the knowledge, and Tsuna knew it, he knew it perfectly well. "If, and only if, I accept your second proposal, then what do you expect me to do? Send you to school?"

Tsuna shook his head. "I will tell you now—I am different than you. Me, Reborn, and handful of others—we don't age. I will remain as a teenager, in this appearance, for an indefinite amount of time. Sending me to school will not be a good idea. On the other hand, Natsume might recognize that I am different—or he may not. He is just a child, he won't recognize that it's unnatural not to grow. If he does, then I can protect you two from afar, if he is unwilling to spend time with an abnormality. Anything else?"

Nana closed her eyes.

"How well can you fight?"

He smiled oddly. "Well enough."

She gritted her teeth, mind racing a mile a second, but she couldn't find any reason to decline. Not that she could think straight at the moment, she thought to herself wryly, but there wasn't any other option left for her to take. Tsuna had made certain of that. So she forced out the words, hoping that everything would be fine and that she wouldn't come to regret the decision she made in the future:

"Both of them, both of the proposals, I accept."

Tsuna smirked, and Nana caught the briefest flash of triumph in his gaze before it was gone.

"Very well," he said with a Chesire grin, "then shall we plan?"

* * *

Hope this is better. If there are any mistakes, feel free to point them out via review/pm. I'd really appreciate it.

3/1/2013


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own.

Thanks to the guest who pointed out mistakes.

**Beta'ed by ShamelessDilettante**

* * *

Ten years had passed since then, and within this decade many things changed.

Within the first week of Tsuna's appearance, the family settled back down to everyday life. Natsume quickly grew fond of his 'Tsuna-nii's' presence, and spent most of the time while he was at home playing with the brunet. During the other sections of the day the blond continued to go back to preschool, albeit reluctantly, because his 'brother' was unable to accompany him.

As per Tsuna's suggestions, Nana really had decided to adopt him—although Tsuna managed to convince her to not do so. Thinking back on it, suggesting the adoption hadn't been the best plan of action. If he were to be adopted, then all sorts of legal business would arise, and frankly he didn't want his presence to be known to the mafia world just yet. He wasn't absolutely certain that he could keep his existence a secret from the Vongola if the need should arise, especially if his name was suddenly registered as part of the Sawada family.

In order not to raise any questions about his stay at the Sawada residence, he made sure to never leave the house when somebody else was watching. Although this method of action was irritating, he deemed it necessary. He didn't trust the neighbors around them to not raise suspicions and rumors about the sudden brown-haired teen who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. From experience he knew that rumors spread quickly, and it would only be a matter of time for one to make its way back to Italy where the Vongola lay in wait.

In the beginning, the household had been very awkward. Tsuna hadn't known what to say to Nana, now that she was cooperating with his proposals. True to her word, she seemed entirely carefree around Natsume, adorning the boy with loving hugs and kisses that made him squeal in delight. But when he wasn't around, the traces of worry and terror slid back into her expression, and Tsuna would leave her to deal with her own anxiety.

He kept his part of the bargain, too. Within the week of the Ninth's and Iemitsu's departure from the Sawada residence, three assassins tried to attack. Tsuna had dealt with them accordingly, maiming them just enough to send the message across and shipping them back to their boss with a warning to never attack again or to face the consequences. It disgusted him to think of how overconfident the Vongola had been about the safety of Nana and Natsume—if he hadn't been there, what would have happened?

Yet time passed relentlessly, and with it the household became more relaxed. At times Tsuna still had to make a move, but as years flew by he no longer needed to remain as vigilant, something that he was grateful for. Although at first their relationship had been strained at best, Nana became indescribably thankful after the first time she witnessed him dispatching an enemy, which had gotten far too close for her liking, proceeding to shower him with praise and adoration. Soon after that he was truly treated as a member of the family, accepted by both as 'Tsuna-nii' and to his amusement, 'Tsu-kun.'

The nickname still made him laugh.

Time passed, and Natsume grew older. Everything was peaceful. Nana continued to dote on Natsume, and soon began to smile genuinely at Tsuna and to laugh from the bottom of her heart. The household always seemed warm and radiant in those passing years, as if it had never had any connections with the perpetual darkness of the underground world.

Within the decade, Sawada Iemitsu had visited the house a total of three more times. Tsuna always left the house then, unwilling to be seen by the leader of the CEDEF. Days before the man's first arrival since he moved in, he had instructed Nana to pretend he never came and drilled Natsume into never mentioning his name to his father. "It's a secret," Tsuna had said teasingly—and Natsume played along with that brilliant smile. Then the brunet would always leave, and never be seen again until he was certain that the Vongola had left.

What really amused Tsuna was that Natsume never seemed to remember who the man had been. One time, days after Iemitsu's visit when he had been five, the blond child had asked, "Who was he?" and Tsuna didn't know how to reply. Nana had been devastated to hear that, but not surprised.

The man had never been there for his child, after all.

More time passed, and soon Natsume entered school. Tsuna would follow him on the walk there, camp out somewhere where he could keep an eye on the boy, and follow him home when it was time to leave. Natsume never seemed to be aware of his personal stalker, which was fine. Tsuna didn't need the child hunting for him every minute of his life.

The boy soon discovered books, and quickly immersed himself into them. However, he only seemed to like certain books—specifically fantasy and science-fiction tales. Despite Tsuna's encouragement, Natsume never seemed to want to even touch non-fiction books, and his grades suffered accordingly.

Nana was rather put out by this, and seeing his mother upset, Natsume began to cry. Nana, seeing her adorable son so sad, immediately reached out to comfort him.

"Don't cry," Nana said gently. "I'm not mad."

"But I got bad grades!"

"Grades don't matter. They are only what the teacher thinks of you." Seeing her son unconvinced, she desperately added, "Na-kun, you are special. You are destined for great things, soon to come…"

And still the clock kept ticking, and the countdown to _that meeting_ began to draw to a close.

* * *

"Tsu-kun!" Nana called from the first floor. "Come down here!"

"Coming!"

It was in the morning. From beyond the window the endless blue sky stretched forever. Sunlight filtered through the window and into the bedroom, the room which he and Natsume shared.

Tsuna climbed out of his bed, running his hand through his unruly brown hair. In the entire ten years he had been in the house, his appearance hadn't changed at all—something that Nana had been quite incredulous about. His brown hair still stood on end, sticking straight up at times as if it were held up by gel. Sometimes he thought that it was too irritating, and made a move to cut it—but then his brother's face would flicker through his mind, and he would set the scissor down immediately and push the thought away.

Behind him, there was a tired groan and a shift of movement. Natsume rolled over in his bed, pulling the covers up over his head. He murmured something like 'five more minutes' and promptly dropped back into dreamland.

Tsuna made his way downstairs, careful not to make any noise as he moved. The door closed without a sound, and his silent footsteps inched closer to the dining room in which Nana was standing, her face nearly as pale and frightened as the first time they had talked.

"Is it time?" Tsuna asked, noting the piece of paper in her hands.

Nana nodded. "This flyer… 'Will raise your kid to be the leader of the next generation. Grade and subject don't matter. Signed, Reborn.'" She turned her wide eyes onto him. "Now what?"

Tsuna pulled a chair out from under the table and sat down. "Now nothing. Now we wait for Reborn to come."

Nana twisted the sheet in her hands, the paper crinkling with her movements. "Is—is it possible to keep him from coming? To give Na-kun more time?"

Solemnly he shook his head. "No. Reborn is the number one hitman in the world. He wouldn't let anybody get in the way of his job, which is to train Natsume-kun. My job of protecting him is over."

Nana turned her terrified eyes onto him. "Are you…leaving?" she choked out.

He smiled.

"I never said that. What's for breakfast?"

* * *

"Na-kun," Nana called, as she walked up the stairs. "I got a call from school. You came home in the middle of class again…"

From his room, Natsume sighed. He was lying flat on his stomach, flipping through yet another novel, his eyes skimming over the contents before turning the page. He was tired of this talk—honestly, she didn't have to remind him! He was well aware of his shortcomings, and what he needed to change, but old habits die hard, and he had no intention of changing them anyway.

His eyes flickered over to the clock hanging on the bedroom wall. It was noon; he had gone to school like it was any ordinary day, been bullied by the rest of his classmates from his grade, called 'Dame-Natsu,' seen his crush, and come home. All in all it had been a bad day so far, and he didn't want it to get any worse. He had come home hoping for a change of pace. After all, what could possibly go wrong if he didn't go out?

There was a knock on his door, and then with a twist of the knob his mother walked in, pouting. "Honestly!" she said, watching as he flipped another page with a disapproving frown. "If only you could read textbooks like that too! What do you plan to do in the future?"

"Dunno," he said distractedly. "Where's Tsuna-nii?"

"Out," Nana answered immediately. "And don't change the topic! I'm not saying that you have to get into a good college or whatever. Live your life to the fullest, and live happily. Don't waste it here, not when things can be much better."

"And they can be much worse," he quipped, ignoring the pained look that flashed briefly across her face. Sighing, he said, "Honestly, Maman. I'm perfectly content reading these books. Now if you'll excuse me…" He lifted his eyes to the door suggestively.

But she didn't leave; she stared at him for a moment and seemed to come to a decision. "Na-kun…a home tutor is coming today." She didn't seem to see his incredulous stare; her gaze seemed locked on a point above his head. "There was an interesting flyer in the mailbox 'Will raise your kid to be the leader of the next generation. Grade and subject doesn't matter. Reborn.' Isn't it great? I've never seen such a promotion before!"

Natsume eyed his beaming mother dubiously. "It's definitely a scam—"

But she kept talking, almost rambling, over his words. "It's probably a tutor from a professional business school for young proper men. I've always wanted a teacher like this for you."

Natsume looked at her indignantly. "I refuse to have a home tutor! I'm not good at anything I do anyways—"

"Ciaossu."

Flinching at the new voice, he looked around, frowning in confusion when he spotted an infant standing by the doorway. The baby was clad in an expensive black suit, a yellow pacifier dangling conspicuously in front of his chest. His spiky hair was covered by a large fedora; near the rim a green chameleon skittered and peered upwards with golden eyes. Grinning, the baby simply stared at him with his obsidian eyes, the distinct sideburns bouncing slightly when he moved. All in all, it was a strange but harmless picture, not that Natsume cared.

"I'm Reborn, the home tutor," the baby declared pompously.

Natsume managed to look at the baby for another second before dissolving into rude snickers. "You're kidding. I was wondering who the heck created that stupid flyer, but it turns out it was a baby! Sorry, but there's nothing that even I can learn from you!"

Before he knew what was happening Reborn had twisted, slamming a foot deep into his groin, and all of the air rushed out of his lungs with a cry of agony. He gasped and collapsed onto the ground, clutching at his stomach, wheezing as he tried to get enough air into his lungs. God, it _hurt_, not even the bullies had managed to hit him so hard. Through the haze of pain and coughing he heard his mother murmur something unintelligible and run out of the room, slamming the door loudly behind her.

Reborn smirked in contentment, satisfied that the woman had left. Now he could finally talk. He pulled open the briefcase that he had been carrying, quickly assembling the components of the gun before holding it up with a loud click. Wiping the saliva from his mouth, his newest student took one look at Reborn and his jaw dropped open like a fool. Reborn frowned inwardly, it seemed like he had to educate the blond on a lot of things, common courtesy among those, though, he mused, he hadn't expected anything else.

"Well, let's get started now, Sawada Natsume. My true line of work is assassination, and my real job is to make you a mafia bo—"

"Tsuna-nii?" the blond whispered.

In an instant Reborn realized what was wrong, what the blond had been staring so incredulously at. Not him, not the gun, but at someone behind him. Reborn spun around, reflexes taking over as he quickly leveled the gun. Nobody, absolutely nobody, snuck up on the legendary Reborn: being the number one assassin in the world should have ensured it. For someone to sneak up behind him took skill and years upon years of training and experience.

The two gazes connected.

"Who are you?" Reborn demanded, tightening his finger on the trigger.

The teen before him smirked.

"My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi."

* * *

Edited, some scenes rewritten, hope this is better.

**Natsume's name: **笯妬芽


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

**Beta'ed by ShamelessDilettante**

* * *

**Two minutes ago:**

"Ciaossu."

Oh god, he's here, Nana thought in panic, and her façade slipped for a moment as she looked around frantically. She didn't see him, she couldn't see him anywhere, no matter how hard she looked. Dropping her gaze, she nearly gave a start as her eyes stopped on the small infant standing by her feet.

Her first thought was that he really was a baby. When Tsuna had described what Reborn had looked like in the morning, she didn't believe him. Then again, everything that he had said seemed to be true—the assassins _had_ come for Natsume. Tsuna really never aged.

Following this was 'he's in a professional suit' and 'what is that green chameleon doing on his hat.' Nana shook off the thoughts, forcing down her turmoil of emotions as she schooled her face to be carefully blank. She had to act like she knew nothing; she had to pretend to be airheaded. It was the suggestion that Tsuna had given her, and none of his advice had been useless (except the suggestion about adopting, which he had corrected soon afterward).

Much to her horror, Natsume began to laugh at the number one assassin in the world. It took all of her willpower not to scream a warning out at him, and she had to bite down on her lip to stop herself.

"I was wondering who the heck created that stupid flyer, but it turns out it was a baby! Sorry, but there's nothing that even I can learn from you!"

Nana's eyes followed the baby closely, watching for his reaction, adrenaline long since pulsing through her veins, sharpening her gaze. But even so she almost didn't see the powerful kick that caught her beloved son in the groin. She bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood in an attempt to stifle her cry.

Watching her son being tortured was painful, but forcing herself to leave the room was even more torturous. Nevertheless she knew she had to leave before she let slip something important, and so she squeaked out something incoherently and fled.

As the door slammed shut behind her, Nana desperately scanned the dark hallway.

Something in the shadows shifted, and she could make out the barest difference of shade as the black-clad teen moved forward. His hazel eyes seemed oddly orange as they regarded her carefully. She was absolutely certain that he could read the fear and anxiety written across her face, as well as the silent, terrified plea:

_Please, help him._

Tsuna nodded, brushing past her and putting his lips inches from her ear. His warm breath tickled her neck as he whispered, "It'll be alright, everything will be alright." His eyes, gleaming orange in the darkness, softened as her knees gave way beneath her. "Just wait here."

She dipped her head hesitantly but complied. Another small smile flitted across Tsuna's face, and he stepped backwards, deeper into the shadows, his eyes melting back from brilliant to brown to blacker than the shadows. When she blinked, she reeled backwards with a startled gasp. He was gone.

Turning her eyes toward Natsume's bedroom door, she could only cross her fingers and pray. Because surely, Tsuna was there, making sure that everything would go his way.

* * *

Reborn knew that he wasn't dealing with just an ordinary civilian. Even before he had raised his gun, he was aware that doing so wasn't the best decision to make. Many people didn't take being threatened by guns well, after all, and he knew even before he lay eyes on the brunet that if he wasn't in a good mood, then Reborn was in trouble. He could sense the presence and power radiating from behind him, but it was oddly low, just the barest indicatation that someone was there. It was far too subtle for his liking.

So he wasn't too surprised when their gazes locked, and within the smoldering brown he could see the power and flames swirling around, clamped securely under control. What he was surprised about was the brunet's appearance—he looked just like Primo, except for the color of his hair and eyes. If Reborn hadn't known otherwise, he would have assumed that the brunet standing before him was the teen he had been sent to train. There were just too many similarities between the appearances of Primo and the brunet to dismiss it as a mere coincidence. Natsume, on the other hand, took after his father, and aside from having blond hair, looked nothing like his ancestor.

Reborn locked his eyes on the brunet, quickly accessing everything that he could take in at once. The teenager stood relaxed, hands tucked into his pockets as if to make a statement. He was leaning against the door almost casually, which, Reborn noted with narrowed eyes, was closed.

After a momentary hesitation Reborn decided to keep the gun raised, just in case. The teenager wasn't freaking out on him, but whether that was good or bad Reborn didn't know.

"Who are you?"

Tilting his head to the side, the brunet merely smiled in return. "I'm surprised you aren't dead yet," he remarked lightly. "As the world's strongest assassin, one would think that you caught my words the first time."

Reborn scrutinized him soundlessly. The door, he recalled, had opened and closed with an annoying click when Nana had entered and exited the room. He hadn't heard a sound when the teenager appeared behind him, as if the door hadn't been opened. It was almost as if the brunet had materialized out of thin air, but that was impossible, since people don't just simply teleport. Tsunayoshi was still watching him curiously, waiting for his verdict, and Reborn frowned. He needed to step carefully around this one, unless he wanted another potential problem. "I was asking for your real name, not the name that you claim to be."

"Oh?" Tsunayoshi said mildly. "What makes you assume I am lying?"

"There's only one Sawada child of this house, and that child is Sawada Natsume," Reborn answered, tipping his head briefly in the blond's direction; the aforementioned teen gave a start at the mention of his name, looking very bemused.

"Of course, Natsu-kun is the only child of Iemitsu and Nana," Tsunayoshi conceded with a serene smile. "But I've been living as a Sawada for a decade now as Natsu-kun's brother, or something of the like. Nana-san took me in when I had nowhere else to go."

Reborn made a mental note to ask Nana for confirmation. "Sawada Iemitsu has returned here multiple times and never saw you on any occasion."

"So Natsu-kun's father is in the mafia," Tsunayoshi murmured softly, and the assassin frowned inwardly. The confusion and disbelief was there, yes, but somehow his words and emotions seemed so real, too real, that it all seemed feigned.

"He is," Reborn divulged. "Is it so surprising?"

Humming to himself, Tsuna contemplated for a moment before answering. "I'm more surprised that he's alive and faring well. For a while, I thought that Natsu-kun's father was dead. I've never seen him before either, so the shock he'll feel when he finds out is mutual. Maybe I was out with friends at the time, or helping Nana-san out. I had to repay her in some way for helping me out."

"You don't seem to like him very much for someone who has never seen him."

Tsuna quirked his lips up into a distant smile. "Of course, because Iemitsu-san has never been around. Fathers are supposed to be there for their children, and not being there makes him a failure of a father by default."

"Personal experience?" Reborn asked curiously.

The brunet's eyes darkened. "That's irrelevant."

"And so are Iemitsu's reasons for staying away, although you can probably piece together the information by now." Reborn lowered the gun slightly, not stupid enough to drop his guard completely. He didn't trust Tsunayoshi to not make a move, he wasn't stupid enough to trust a complete stranger with something as large as his life and the life of the last remaining heir to the Vongola family.

Tsunayoshi's cheeks twitched. "Touché."

"But what is relevant are your connections to the mafia. Care to tell?"

Humming, the brunet looked up towards the ceiling with the beginnings of a smirk quirking his lips. "Hm, don't wanna. It's a secret."

"A secret?" Reborn parroted, fingers inching upward. Right now, Tsunayoshi wasn't watching him, and it didn't matter if he didn't manage to dodge. Reborn hadn't forgotten his initial suspicions, suspicions that had only intensified during their conversation. Though he was unsure what Tsunayoshi was trying to pull, he doubted that their interests would coincide in the end. Interests rarely ever did.

"A secret," Tsunayoshi confirmed idly, still not meeting his gaze.

Reborn shot two quick bullets in quick succession towards the brunet's head, pulling back immediately when he was done. The gunshots exploded through the air with multiple cracks, and Natsume reeled backwards with a yelp of shock. Until he had heard Natsume scream, Reborn had nearly forgotten that the blond was watching his future teacher try to murder his beloved brother—not that Reborn cared, of course. Because if he was right, then nothing would change, nothing at all.

With an annoyed grumble, Tsunayoshi merely turned his body just enough to allow the bullets skim by without harm. "What was that for?" he pouted, peering at the bullets that were now embedded securely into the wall.

"For being difficult."

"I'm not 'difficult,'" Tsunayoshi repined, crossing his arms over his chest with a mock-sigh. "Incidentally, are you done testing me yet?"

Reborn half-smiled and reverted Leon back into the chameleon. "For now."

Tsunayoshi nodded curtly in return, and for a moment the pouting frown morphed into something unreadable. But then in the next instant, the odd look was gone, as if it had never happened. Reborn narrowed his eyes speculatively, but knew better than to press the issue, not when they were still complete strangers. So instead he turned around to face Natsume, who was (thankfully) still being quiet despite the chaos.

"Tsuna."

Reborn turned and looked at the brunet questioningly.

"Call me Tsuna, not Tsunayoshi. I'll be downstairs if you need me."

Reborn nodded, and without another word Tsuna turned and left. Natsume stirred slightly at the sight of his brother leaving, and all at once the events of the day seemed to catch up to him. Blanching, Natsume turned pleading hazel eyes to meet Reborn's.

"Maybe we should redo our introduction," Reborn said pleasantly, ignoring the look he was getting in return. "Ciaossu, then: my name is Reborn, and my job is to make your life hell."

* * *

Nana was preparing for the next meal in the kitchen when Tsuna entered. He sat down at the kitchen table, watching idly as she set aside the cut vegetables and meat to hurry over.

"Well?" she prompted impatiently.

He flicked his eyes over her form, noting the nervous twittering of her fingers. "Natsu-kun is going to be fine," he said, watching in amusement as she let out a long sigh of relief. "You're curious about what I did. That's natural, of course, but I didn't do anything special. We just talked."

She pinned him with an incredulous stare. "So you 'just talked,' but what about the gunshots? It wasn't even just one! What did you do to aggravate him?" Nana strode quickly over to the brunet, checking his body for wounds.

"Apparently, I was being difficult," Tsuna answered blithely, batting away her hands. With a concerned look, Nana pulled back, hurt that she was being pushed away. In all the years that they had lived together, never once had Tsuna allowed her to help him in any way besides providing food and shelter. In a way it was quite insulting, but above all it was infuriating, because she wanted, needed, to repay him somehow, but he wouldn't let her. "I'm not hurt. You might want to repair the wall, though. There's a couple of holes in it."

She could feel the blood rushing back into her head, now that the threat was gone temporarily, and her brain began to work again: at least, enough to pull an exasperated look onto her face. "What am I supposed to say to the worker? 'Yes, those are bullets stuck in the walls. Unfortunately I have two Mafiosi living under my roof at the moment, so expect to be called back for future repairs.'"

"Not your best idea," he agreed.

"Definitely not." Running her hands underneath the cold tap water, she began to continue cutting the food with a knife; then she heard the shrill scream. From upstairs, she noted, and before she knew what was happening she was bolting for Natsume's room with the kitchen knife clenched threateningly in her hand.

Before she could step out of the kitchen, a strong arm looped around her waist and held her back. "What are you doing? Let me go!" Nana struggled futilely, and the other hand caught her hand with the knife and held it still. "My son's up there!"

Tsuna gently pulled the older woman back into the kitchen, removing the blade from her fingers. "I'm well aware of that," he said wryly, "but there's nothing that I can do. Reborn won't make any stupid moves while I'm here, and no harm that he does to Natsu-kun will be permanent anyway. Even if I didn't intervene, he would have used force or perhaps even torture to raise Natsu-kun into a suitable heir for the Vongola."

Confusion flickered in Nana's eyes as she tried to piece together what the teen had just told her. "I don't understand, why would Reborn use torture in order to train Na-kun?"

He hummed. "It depends on your perspective. Personally, I wouldn't say that Reborn is truly going to torture Natsu-kun; his job is to make Natsu-kun the boss of the Vongola. To do so, Natsu-kun's speed, dexterity, and strength need to improve. Spartan methods work well to help improve various capabilities. Of course, Spartan methods can be rather cruel, but I don't view that as outright torture. Besides, whatever Reborn does, he will not let Natsu-kun die. Natsu-kun is his charge, his student, and the last known heir of the Vongola. Training him would all be for naught if Natsu-kun passes away. Plus, the Vongola, Reborn's affiliation, would prevent him from killing Natsu-kun anyway, because the heir needs to remain alive for the family to continue. Harsher training would help both Natsu-kun and the Vongola in the long run if done properly."

Nana frowned; something seemed a little off about his explanation but she couldn't quite place it. "If you knew that he was going to torture Na-kun either way, why bother placing yourself under his scrutiny? Because according to what you said, no harm would have come to Na-kun if you simply stood by and did nothing. In fact, according to your words, you can leave now without the fear that Na-kun will die, because Reborn and the Vongola need him alive. So why get involved, and why stay here?"

With a chuckle, Tsuna placed the knife back on the kitchen table. "You're right, I don't need to stay here, I can just leave like you pointed out this morning. No harm would be done. But tell me, do you want me to stay? After all, nothing would change whether I stay or not, yes?"

She hesitated, trying to think past the growing migraine. After all these years, the prospect of him leaving still scared her, not just because it would leave her at Reborn's mercy but because Tsuna had grown on her and on Natsume. As she looked at him soberly, the brunet leaned back, humming in contentment, reading the expression written clearly across her brow.

"But I'm not staying because I don't want you to be upset," he said smoothly. The words were like a slap to her face, making her stomach twist unpleasantly. "Don't look at me like that—you know this already, at least subconsciously. I'm here because I want to be, because I feel like I should be, because I am bored otherwise. Staying here will make things interesting. My life's been slow the last couple of years—" Nana pouted, it wasn't her fault that no one tried to kill them recently— "and I need a change of pace. Staying here with Reborn will give me that."

Nana frowned disapprovingly, muttering, "At least you're honest." Unlike her husband.

Tsuna laughed.

"Honest. Right."

* * *

Natsume cornered him later that night after a long afternoon of pain and torture. Given that they shared a bedroom, Tsuna wasn't surprised in the least. When the brunet had left the kitchen table, Natsume dismissed himself oh-so-subtly as well, catching up to Tsuna on the staircase and quickly steering him into their joint bedroom.

"We need to talk," Natsume said in a near-whisper as he locked the door behind him. With a roll of his eyes, Tsuna sat down on the edge of his bed.

"We already are," he quipped blandly.

Natsume jumped to his feet, clenching his fingers into tight fists. "You know what I mean! You knew that I was the last heir of the Vongola! That's why you're here, isn't it, Tsuna-nii? Because you want my position too?"

"Don't be stupid," Tsuna huffed indignantly, "I'm your brother, why would I want something that is rightfully yours? Besides, if I wanted to take your position then I could have killed you long ago." Natsume wasn't meeting his eyes, and Tsuna sighed. "Natsu-kun, look at me."

Reluctantly Natsume met his gaze, and Tsuna could see the doubt and skepticism in his eyes. But Natsume shook his head, as if clearing out bad thoughts, and dropped down on the bed opposite of Tsuna's. "Sorry," he muttered, and the brunet dipped his head in acknowledgement.

"Don't worry about it."

"But Tsuna-nii," Natsume said hesitantly, shifting his position minutely, "you knew, didn't you? That I was going to be part of the mafia."

"I did."

The blond's eyebrows furrowed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because Nana-san didn't want me to." He exhaled at Natsume's inquiring frown. "Ten years ago, Nana was informed that you were to become the next heir to the Vongola. I offered her a proposal then—I would make sure that you wouldn't be exposed to the mafia world until Reborn came, in exchange for living here. Natsume," Tsuna said, catching the boy's eyes solemnly as the younger teen tried to look away. "The mafia world is a cruel one, one that no one should grow up in. I could not prevent Reborn from coming, but I could prevent you from being associated with the mafia as a child, which would have stolen your peaceful days away from you. Nana wanted you to have a normal childhood, and so I didn't tell you."

Natsume slumped back in defeat. "So she knows?" he whispered, more to himself than to anyone else. Tsuna nodded, and Natsume pinched the bridge of his nose, scrunching his eyebrows tightly into a knot. "For ten years, too. And all that time, I thought she was just an airhead. Ne, Tsuna-nii, how long have you been in the mafia?"

"Long enough."

"Why do you always speak this way?" Natsume groused in exasperation, but he was trying hard to hide his grin. "Never mind then, it's fine, just don't hide things that important from me in the future."

Tsuna let himself smile widely, too widely, as he leaned against the wall. "Of course I won't, what are brothers for?" Natsume stared at him for a moment before flushing a deep red and began to stammer something incoherent that Tsuna ignored. Pressing his ears discreetly against the wood, the brunet listened patiently as he sought out a certain sound: there, there it was. He could hear the unmistakable steps of Reborn move away from the room, and his lips twitched upward.

"Natsu-kun, Reborn is gone now."

Natsume grunted, giving no other indication that he had heard, and with a light smile Tsuna pushed himself away from the wall to join his roommate. As always, his movements were silent, a trademark developed from years upon years of practice.

Tsuna's voice was just above a whisper, "Did you tell him anything about _that_?"

"No."

Satisfaction flickered in Tsuna's gaze. "Good."

The blond nodded slowly, flushing under the praise, and happiness sparked in his eyes. "You both have them though," Natsume pointed out eagerly. "The only thing that was different was the color. It was hard to keep myself from gasping aloud when I saw his."

Tsuna gave a small laugh. "Reborn and I are similar: similar, but not the same. I'm sure you've noticed with me already, but both Reborn and I will not grow older physically. You shouldn't be surprised that he's just a baby."

Natsume winced. "I assumed that he would be a teen, like you."

"I'm an exception."

Natsume looked at the brunet tentatively. "May I see it again?"

Tsuna nodded absently, his hand already plunged into his pants pocket, and he closed his fingers around a small orange pouch and pulled it out. Ever so carefully he loosened the pouch and allowed an object to fall out. It touched his hand and rolled to a rest at the center of his palm.

"I don't see what's so interesting about it though," he said mildly.

Natsume looked at him incredulously. "Are you kidding? It's beautiful…"

Tsuna eyed the object with distaste. It was the source of nearly all his problems, of all his troubles, the object that caused everything, and quite frankly, he'd had enough of what it symbolized and the trouble it brought.

Resting on his palm was a clear orange pacifier.

* * *

Hope it's better, edited.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own.

Thanks to** Uni Giglio Nero **for pointing out mistakes.

**Beta'ed by ShamelessDilettante**

* * *

Reborn was tired: it had been a long day, and the wrench thrown abruptly into his way was not helping his mood. As a hitman, he knew that in the mafia, literally anything and everything could go wrong. So to make sure that nothing would, he had been meticulous while planning his trip to Japan. He had only boarded the plane from Italy after he was certain that no one onboard was connected with the mafia. He had arrived early, just to scope and to explore the place that he would be calling his home for the next couple of years. Namimori was a small, quiet town, the perfect place to hide the next heir of the most powerful family in the world.

Only after he had thoroughly researched and memorized all the routes in the town did Reborn approach the heir himself. He hadn't been expecting much, just an ordinary kid in an ordinary town. All of the records in the Vongola stated that Natsume was just a normal teenager, one with the overly mundane problem of struggling with bullying and his studies. But they were simple issues, nothing large, and millions experienced the same troubles in life and pulled through. All in all, Natsume and his family was just an ordinary family with ordinary issues: nothing about the mafia.

According to the records, both Nana and Natsume knew nothing of it.

But the truth was the opposite of this. According to what he had overheard from the two brothers' talk in the bedroom, Nana did know of the mafia. Someone—Reborn had a sneaking suspicion that a certain brunet was responsible for this—had informed her, and thus placed her in danger. Yet despite being exposed to such dangerous information, nothing had changed with Sawada's daily life. No assassins had come to claim her life, and no typical motherly panic had ensued and caused the entire family to change their name and move. For ten years she had managed to keep that fact a secret, even when her darling Iemitsu had returned home to check up on things. What worried Reborn the most was that Iemitsu was no idiot, either—of course he wasn't, idiots would have died soon after joining the mafia. He, of all people, should have noticed that there was something bothering her, being her husband, but he hadn't, he never had.

Being able to keep secrets was one thing, and although it was worrying it was still tolerable. Everybody had a right to their secrets, Nana included, though Reborn was not one to talk. He himself had his own affairs, namely the Arcobaleno, and his secrets and problems weren't necessary for anybody else to learn. So for now he'd respect her privacy, though he was curious to learn just how deep her knowledge ran.

But hiding a strange brunet, who was undeniably associated with the mafia, was not alright. Reborn knew that Tsuna could easily become a threat, he had sensed a remarkable amount of control and power coiled deep within the confines of the small body. If Tsuna had another agenda, then things could fall apart instantly. Reborn didn't like this idea, but honestly, there wasn't much that he could do about it. Getting rid of Tsuna would equate to upsetting Nana and his student, and now that they had met, Reborn needed their approval to continue with the training. It wouldn't do to have Natsume rejecting the Vongola every step of the way.

Of course he had wondered if forcing answers from Tsuna would be the best choice, but after a period of musing, he concluded that it wasn't. If the flames that he sensed within the brunet were of any indication, then Tsuna was strong, much stronger than the men that he typically dealt with over at Vongola HQ. That, and the fact that he knew absolutely nothing about how the brunet would react, was enough to convince Reborn not to make a move.

But even if he wouldn't fight, that didn't mean that he couldn't speculate. Aside from his prowess on the battlefield, Reborn knew that he possessed a remarkably analytical mind. Still, he was stumped at how Tsuna had managed to live in the Sawada residence for ten years and not be noticed by the Vongola. True, it wouldn't take much skill for him to simply vacate the home whenever Iemitsu decided to pay a visit. It was the more subtle things that baffled him—how Tsuna managed to stay out of sight. How Natsume never once mentioned having an older brother. How Nana had acted so naturally, despite being burdened with so many secrets.

Then there was the fact that Tsuna looked exactly the same age as Natsume_, _which meant that ten years ago, he would have been three years old. That was something Reborn couldn't bring himself to believe—a three year old boy, managing to fool the Vongola and to get Nana to let him live in her home. A three year old boy, offering the distraught woman a proposal, one that stated that he would ensure that another boy his age wouldn't be exposed to the mafia. The mere thought was laughable—but there was no other explanation that he could think of at the moment.

Tsuna had made it blatantly obvious that he had known about the mafia for at least ten years. If Reborn was right and Tsuna had been the one to inform Nana about the Vongola in the first place, then that meant that the boy had been in the mafia for a number of years before his arrival at the Sawada residence. There was no other way that he could know about the mafia, about the Vongola, much less about the fact that Sawada Iemitsu was the leader of the CEDEF, and that the last remaining heir was his son. Hell, the identity of the last heir of the position of Vongola Decimo was the most guarded secret that the Vongola had. But, come to think of it, Federico and the other candidates hadn't died until recently, which was what spurred on the decision to make Natsume the heir in the first place. If he followed that train of thought, then it almost seemed as if Tsuna knew what was going to happen, as if he knew that Federico and Enrico were going to die and that he would be close to Natsume's family before then.

With a frustrated sigh, Reborn tugged at his sideburns with the beginnings of a scowl crossing his face. He was thinking in circles; he wasn't getting anywhere at all. But perhaps Tsuna had helped to orchestrate Federico, Enrico, and Matsumo's deaths…But the feud Enrico was killed in was partly the Vongola's fault, and Matsumo had drowned after being pushed into a body of water by his friends (the guy couldn't swim for his life). Federico had been found reduced to bone, and the culprits had been decimated, their families wiped permanently from existence. However, Reborn couldn't rule out the notion that Tsuna was involved quite yet.

For now, though, it was all speculation and guesswork, and it would hardly be fitting for the number one assassin in the world to wrongly accuse someone. So he would watch over Tsuna, making sure that the brunet did nothing out of line, and if he did, then Reborn would have the perfect reason to shoot him. Watching did not mean waiting, far from it. Gently urging Leon to morph, Reborn wrapped his hands around the black-green cell phone and pressed it to his ear.

Thankfully Leon's line was secure, blocked from access from all except the best of hackers, and he doubted that any one of them had the mind to hack into Reborn's phone if they knew what was good for them. He dialed a familiar number, waiting as it buzzed once, twice, three times in his ear.

The other man picked up on the fourth ring. "Hello?"

"Iemitsu," Reborn acknowledged, "it's Reborn."

He could practically feel the uneasy confusion radiating from the other side of the line. "You're with Natsume, aren't you? Is there something wrong?"

"…We need to talk."

* * *

Tsuna sighed as Natsume continued to stare intently at the pacifier; he could practically feel the awe and admiration radiating from the blond as he stared at it. Quite frankly, it wasn't all that interesting, but then again he couldn't say anything. He had been rather enthralled by it when he had first received it—but, Tsuna thought wistfully, for different reasons.

Orange had always been Tsuna's favorite color, especially in brilliant vibrant hues, but the pacifier seemed to have its own ideas. It was a light, pale orange—like the smallest smudge of orange blended into a large mess of white. The pacifier seemed so small compared to Reborn's, but perhaps that was just because Tsuna himself was much larger. Small chains wrapped around the spherical portion, the black contrasting the fading hue.

"I've been meaning to ask," Natsume said suddenly, "but why do you have those chains around it? Before Reborn came, they were never there."

Tsuna mulled over an answer, settling with the truth. "As a general rule, these pacifiers shine whenever they get within a specific range of another pacifier. I'd rather not have Reborn knowing that I have one. These chains prevent my pacifier from shining, and they also prevent other pacifiers from glowing when they get near it."

"Oh."

Tsuna closed his fingers around the pacifier gently, slipping it back into its orange bag before stowing it away into his pocket. "Remember, Natsu-kun: not a word." Ignoring Natsume's disappointed look, he exited the bedroom.

Reborn was nowhere in sight when he poked his head out of the doorway, but he could hear the squeaky voice speaking to someone from somewhere down the corridor, muffled by a closed door—was it the restroom? After giving Natsume a quick warning not to intrude on the hitman's privacy, Tsuna made his way back down the stairs and into the kitchen. Though he was curious, it wasn't his business to poke his nose into Reborn's problems.

Nana was still there, washing the dishes cheerfully as she hummed a quick tune beneath her breath. When she saw him walk through the door, she quickly set down the plates and straightened.

Skipping all preamble, Tsuna said, "Reborn is now aware that you know about the mafia."

Her eyes flickered with both astonishment and odd relief. "Did you tell him?"

Tsuna nodded briefly, leaning on the nearest wall. "Natsume and I had a little talk. Reborn kindly eavesdropped on us, and is now in the bedroom calling your husband. Are you okay with that?"

She stared at him determinedly. "Yes." Then her expression wavered. "But—"

"Before you ask if you need to keep up the act, let me talk first." Tsuna caught her gaze, smiling reassuringly. "Remember how I said that hitmen will seek this place out? With Reborn's arrival, they will begin to come. None of them will do any harm. If they intend to, I will personally dispatch them before they can so much as touch a hair on your head. When these new hitmen arrive in Japan, they will need somewhere to stay. I am thinking of you allowing them to stay here in this house, to build a sense of family for Natsu-kun. In order to get this family atmosphere, I want to ask you to continue your 'cheerful mother' act, even though Reborn knows now."

Nana blanched, twisting her apron between her fingers. "How could you even suggest that?" she whispered. "Even if they won't hurt me, they'll be coming here for Na-kun! And they are hitmen and Mafiosi—killers! I wouldn't let someone so tainted into my house!"

"I'm tainted, then," Tsuna said blithely. "Your husband is tainted too, and yet you let the two of us into your home. There is no difference, except that most of the ones coming are small children."

"Children in the mafia!"

"It's not uncommon," he said quietly. "Far from it. I myself was a child when I first became involved." When she didn't reply, he sighed and pushed himself away from the wall. "Give me an answer by tomorrow morning." Quietly he slipped out of the room, leaving the woman alone with her thoughts.

Reborn was still talking on the phone when he returned upstairs. Tsuna was surprised to see Natsume, standing awkwardly by the bedroom door, clearly wanting to go in but not knowing what to do. Tsuna moved toward the door, raising his eyebrows as he did so; whatever Reborn was discussing was taking a while. But then again, he had expected it to be that way: they were most likely discussing him, after all, because why else would Reborn call? Tapping the other teen on the shoulder, Tsuna fastened his fingers around Natsume's wrists loosely and tugged him down the stairs, out of earshot if they kept their voices pitched low.

Once they were down the stairs, Tsuna released his grip and turned around. "Reborn's in our room now?"

Natsume nodded with a perplexed look in his eyes. "He exited the restroom a minute ago and asked me to talk to someone on the phone. Then he went to our bedroom and slammed it shut."

"Talk with whom?"

"Ie—Dad, I think." Rubbing the back of his head, the blond waited until he was certain that Nana was still cooking before speaking again. Whenever Iemitsu had come up in discussions, Nana had always been quick to jump in, whether to proclaim her undying love or to praise his romanticism, and now that Natsume knew it was possibly just all an act, he seemed uncomfortable with speaking any louder than necessary. "He wanted to know if I was alright."

Tsuna snorted in derision, shoving his hands back into his pockets where he could ball them surreptitiously into fists. "How sweet of him." Turning around, he headed back the direction that he had come. To think that chatting with Nana would give Reborn so much room to move.

"Tsuna-nii, where are you going?"

"Up." Disregarding Natsume's flabbergasted look, Tsuna continued walking until he was right in front of the door. He knocked three times before opening it. The conversation within the room cut off shortly, and Tsuna peered into the room to see Reborn's sharp eyes regarding him, the phone pressed against his suit. Clearly it hadn't been turned off, not yet.

"Hello, Reborn-san," he said with a polite dip of his head, "having a nice chat?"

Reborn didn't answer immediately, but then his shoulders relaxed as he flicked his fedora upwards with a cordial smile. "What are you doing here, Tsunayoshi-san?"

"It's Tsuna," he corrected, pulling out an orange and white sweatshirt from the depths of the closet and furrowed his eyebrows slightly. He hadn't known that he had this shirt, not within the black hole that consisted of his drawers and closet, hidden by folds upon folds of fabric that made up both Tsuna's and Natsume's wardrobe. "I'm going to shower now, and my clothes are in this closet. This is my room, after all."

A loud crackle sounded through the room just as he was about to leave, and Tsuna doubled back curiously. He could barely hear the obscenities being screamed from the other end of the phone, and though he could place the voice, he couldn't understand what was being said. Though, he thought with an amused grin, judging from the tone, nothing good.

After giving him another searching look, Reborn hung up, ending the three-way conversation effectively. "Excuse him, Iemitsu's never been one for manners."

"So I've noticed," Tsuna agreed dryly. "But excuse me for saying that I don't have the best opinion of him. In the few seconds I've heard his voice, he was trying to cuss me out. Not the best first impression." He tilted his head to the side. "Though, who you call is not my business, and it wasn't necessary for you to end the call because I entered. It's not like I don't know what you were discussing."

Lifting Leon back up to its usual perch atop his fedora, Reborn pouted, "I didn't end the call because you were here. He was annoying me."

"Oh?"

"He was asking me stupid questions." Reborn folded his arms across his chest with an annoyed huff. "Never mind what I have to deal with on a daily basis, Iemitsu alone is enough. But moving on: Tsuna-san, do you go to school?"

Tsuna raised his eyebrows questioningly, "No."

"Then we'll have to take care of that. To put it bluntly, I don't trust you to not run off with your own agenda while Dame-Natsu's is in school."

"To watch me," Tsuna summarized with a sigh. Well, he had never received a formal education, and taking classes couldn't hurt. It would kill time and get rid of a modicum of his boredom. "Alright, do as you will. Anything else?"

"Not for now." With a pleased expression, Reborn turned and hopped off of the bed, momentarily displaying his unprotected back. Like another petty test, Tsuna mused, but he didn't have any intention of taking the opening, the shower was waiting for him. When the baby turned around again, he was sulking in disappointment. "Then I'll go take care of the official papers."

Smiling, Tsuna followed him out of the room and stepped into the bathroom. "Oh, and Reborn-san," he said, allowing the beginnings of a teasing grin to stretch across his cheeks, "tell Iemitsu that Sawada Tsunayoshi sends him his regards." Smirking at Reborn's suddenly inscrutable look, Tsuna pushed open the bathroom door and locked it behind him, turning on the tap water just enough so that the pounding of the drops would drown out all other sounds.

* * *

Nana hadn't expected to see Reborn after the impromptu talk with Tsuna nearly half an hour before. He had left with the clear intention of giving her space to think, space to breathe in the chaotic world, and she hadn't anticipated that Reborn of all people would want to talk with her next. Keeping half of her mind on the stove, she turned to attend the hitman, who waited by the door patiently.

"Ciaossu."

"Reborn-chan!" she squealed, inwardly recoiling at the utter cheerfulness of her voice. "How is Na-kun doing?"

To her chagrin he didn't display an ounce of remorse for terrorizing her son in the hour that they had talked, and she had half a mind to stomp over to Reborn and start screaming at him herself. But Tsuna was right, she couldn't antagonize him, not when Reborn carried all of their lives within the palm of his hand. "He needs work," Reborn said flippantly instead, and Nana carefully held her hands behind her back where the assassin couldn't see them. Twisting her hands anxiously, she wished that he would just leave and never come back. For all she cared, he could burn alive and she still wouldn't give a shit, because the infant was a killer and she couldn't just forget that.

Her mouth was moving on autopilot, and so were her hands: it was as if she was watching detachedly from another person altogether. She could see her hands clapping, rocking on her feet, and she could hear her own light giggle. "Oh, but that's what you're here for, to teach him," she said airily, turning around to tuck another dish in its place on the drying rack.

From the corner of her eye she saw Reborn hop onto a chair in the dining room, making himself at home with an indifference that left her boiling in rage. Which was stupid, she thought distantly, because she had accepted Reborn's terms to live with them in the first place.

"Do you need a cushion?" The top of Reborn's hat barely cleared the table; come to think of it, he had eaten dinner sitting on top of the table earlier. With a nod, Reborn peered at her emotionlessly, as befitting of a top-notch assassin. Suddenly she couldn't bear to be in the same room as him anymore, and Nana swept away after pouring the leftover food onto a plate and setting it into the refrigerator to cool.

After adding enough pillows to Reborn's new place at the dining table, Nana opened her mouth to call the rest of the family down to assist with further chores when Reborn's voice cut across hers. "Don't call them down," Reborn warned, "I want to discuss a few matters with you first."

Her smile faltered. "Is something wrong?"

"You don't need to act around me," Reborn said, "I already know that you know who I am and what I am here for. Tsuna-san explained to you about the mafia ten years ago, didn't he?"

Nana drew herself up, letting the smile slide off her face and replaced it with a frown. Her arms and legs were trembling, but she wouldn't be cowed—never, ever in the face of enemies that tried to steal her sons away. "He did," she answered challengingly, "and so what?"

"So nothing, I was just curious." Reborn eyed her expressionlessly, and the lack of emotion unnerved her; babies weren't supposed to look so old, so wise, so fake. It simply wasn't natural.

Resisting the urge to stamp her foot to get her point across, she slowly inched her fingers toward the kitchen knife. "Tsu-kun merely did what he thought was the best for both Na-kun and I, it isn't your concern."

Despite the agonizingly slow speed her fingers were moving, Reborn's eyes flicked once to her hand, then to the knife and before locking squarely on her eyes. She froze. All of a sudden she couldn't move, caught in the spotlights that were Reborn's black eyes. But the next moment her hand was in motion, retracting as quickly as possible, her defensive mechanisms kicking in all at once.

"Do you really believe that?" he asked in a low voice.

She met his eyes defiantly, "I do."

"Explain."

Nana clenched her fists again. "He's not like you, not like your type. He cares for people. He helped to raise my son, acted as both an older brother and a role model. Na-kun adores him, I care for him, he's done so much for us."

"So I've heard," he said, sounding wholly unconvinced.

She took a step forward, dropping her voice. Though she could hear the shower running from upstairs, one of the two boys were currently up and about, and this conversation was just between Reborn and her. Neither of her sons needed to get involved. "Tsu-kun protected us from the assassins that the Vongola kindly brought with them the first time Nono and Iemitsu visited. He alone has kept us safe all this time," she stressed, "and it's not something I'd forget."

"You owe him," Reborn summed up tonelessly, and she nodded, relieved that the hitman understood. Despite all the time they had spent together as a family, she had never been able to convey her gratitude to Tsuna, and somehow explaining to the assassin lifted a weight from her chest. Humming to herself slightly, she prepared to return to setting up the dinner table when Reborn reappeared in front of her.

"Is there anything else that you need?"

"No, I'll take my leave now." Sweeping away with a flourish, Reborn slipped out of the room without looking back, leaving an utterly bemused Nana staring from behind.

* * *

Edited 2/17/2013


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own.

**Beta'ed by ShamelessDilettante. **

* * *

Natsume woke up the next morning to a sledgehammer in his face.

Flying backwards with a cry, he pressed his hands to his head, trying to suppress his whimpers of agony. Pain turned his vision black, and for a long while he couldn't see, he couldn't think, not enough to string together a coherent sentence at least.

"What was that for?"

Now that his head was beginning to clear, he could see the baby hitman sitting near the edge of his bed. Swinging the ten-ton hammer back and forth almost lazily, Reborn grinned. "You didn't wake up," he said—as if it was a perfectly reasonable explanation to slam a ten-ton hammer into Natsume's already fragile head. Then again, Reborn was exactly the type of person to use anything as an excuse to get his ends when it regarded him.

The first thing that he had learned about Reborn was that the baby was very, very sadistic. He seemed to enjoy watching Natsume squirm in discomfort as he had explained about the Vongola—of course, with a gun aimed at the blond's head. At first, Natsume couldn't help but to shriek at the sight of the weapon—especially at the fact that it was pointed at him—but Reborn had only seemed to _enjoy_ it. Which was far from reassuring, he thought with a groan, the idea of a sadistic assassin trying to teach him how to fight could be anything but.

The thought made him want to grumble again. Why was his luck so bad? He decided to talk to Tsuna about not irritating the hitman too much, since he suspected that at least a part of the hitman's bloodlust came from having to deal with Tsuna. Natsume wasn't dense; he could see that Reborn was wary around his older brother, and respected him in a way that he didn't respect Natsume.

"Why don't you just tell Reborn what he wants to know?" he had asked the other night, shortly before going to bed. Tsuna had just returned from shower, his tousled hair still matted by water, looking around the room as if searching for something. At his voice the brunet turned and looked at him for a moment before speaking.

"Because it's not fun that way."

After the second encounter in the bedroom, Reborn and Tsuna hadn't spoken to each other the rest of the night. Reborn had gone to sleep immediately afterwards, an insanely large nose-bubble rising and falling in accordance to his breath. It confused Natsume as to why his eyes never closed or even blinked, but then again, there were always stranger things. Talking babies for one, he mused, and teenagers that didn't grow.

Compared to everybody else who was in the house at the moment, he was normal, perfectly normal.

In front of him, Reborn raised his mallet again, and Natsume bristled. "I'm getting up, I'm getting up!" he said hastily, clambering to his feet. The hammer swung dangerously close to home anyway, skimming his skin as Natsume skittered desperately away from the weapon. "Reborn!"

Reborn shot him a leering grin. "You're too slow."

"And if you break my arm, I'll be even slower," Natsume huffed indignantly. "Where's the logic in that?"

Smirking, the assassin lowered the weapon briefly to shoot him the most innocent smile Natsume had ever seen. "None, I just felt like it."

That's the last time he was going to ask stupid questions, Natsume thought in exasperation. Running his gaze over the room, he saw his brother's sleeping form, a mere bundle of blankets with brown hair splaying across the pillow. Natsume pouted, "And you're letting Tsuna-nii sleep in. That's not fair."

Reborn waved his hand dismissively. "He's not my student and not my responsibility."

"So you're just going to leave him there?"

Tugging at his sideburns in consideration, Reborn turned to look at the sleeping brunet. "Good point," he conceded, "I do need him up." As if sensing some silent signal, Leon perked its head up and skittered onto Reborn's fingertips, morphing into the green gun as it moved.

"Reborn?" Natsume asked nervously.

But Reborn merely pointed the gun up at the ceiling and fired.

Thankfully it was a blank, otherwise there would be a hole in the ceiling. Either way the sound of the gunfire made Natsume jump a foot into the air, though he had expected the shot, and he couldn't suppress his cry of alarm. Groaning, Tsuna roused himself from the bed, shifting so that he could eye the duo from the corners of his eyes.

"Was that really necessary?" he asked blearily.

"No," Reborn admitted, and Tsuna pushed the heavy layers of blankets off of his body with a loud rustle of cloth and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. With a sigh he stood up, stretching his arms at a leisured pace.

"So," Tsuna yawned, "what did you want me up for?"

The three of them moved downstairs, each step creaking under their weight, and before they reached the bottom step Nana had barreled directly into them. "What was that gunshot for?" she asked worriedly, and before Natsume could compose a reply, Tsuna was already answering in a low voice. Whatever he said worked, because Nana relaxed a notch and ran back toward the kitchen, but not without a chastising glare directed at Reborn.

As they sat down back in the dining room for breakfast, Reborn scrutinized the brunet, saying, "I've made all of the necessary preparations for your transfer."

"Transfer?" Natsume discreetly prodded the other teen in the ribs underneath the table. "Tsuna-nii, what is he talking about?" From the corner of his eyes he could see his mother pausing in the kitchen.

But Tsuna wasn't even looking in Natsume's direction. Without a sign of acknowledgement, Tsuna looked across the table to where the infant sat elevated from the large amount of cushions and exhaled. "Alright, what details?"

"You are to be Dame-Natsu's cousin. Due to family circumstances, you will be staying with him for an undetermined amount of time. The transfer has already been taken care of; in fact, they expect you in school today. I left the uniform on your bed, so you can change after eating breakfast. You'll be in Dame-Natsu's class, sitting next to him. The person who sat there previously suddenly had family problems and had to move."

Tsuna raised an eyebrow. "How convenient."

"What is he talking about?"

Deciding to spare Natsume the confusion Tsuna answered, "It appears as though I am going to transfer into Namimori Middle."

"Why?"

Shrugging, Tsuna leaned on his elbows and pressed his palms into his face. "Who knows?"

It wasn't as if Tsuna particularly cared about the announcement. Now that Reborn was here, he had expected it sooner or later, and he seemed to be around the same age as Natsume anyway. It would make more sense to be within reach of Natsume in his class, as opposed to watching the boy from afar. Just watching was boring, and perhaps the school drama would entertain him sufficiently.

In the end Natsume gave up with a sigh, and began to reach for his food, but then as fast as a striking snake Reborn's hand shot forward and snatched his plate away. When it was returned it was sparkly clean, and Reborn smacked his lips loudly in satisfaction as Natsume began to complain.

Nana walked over from the kitchen, frowning disapprovingly. No doubt she had heard the entire conversation, and Tsuna knew that she knew that he had lied, or at least evaded the question. She didn't comment on them, though, instead bringing more food over without a word. But before she had left the room the food was all gone again, gobbled up by Reborn.

As Natsume dissolved into whines, Tsuna excused himself from the table and headed upstairs. If this is what school drama was like, then he took back his words: he wanted none of it.

The uniform was indeed lying on the bed when he walked into his bedroom, and he eyed it distastefully. Ever since _that incident_ so many years ago, he had come to associate himself with the dark. Since then he had chosen to always wear something black, and the rest as dark as possible, be it blue, dark violet, or black. Tsuna despised the lighter colors, because they reminded him of everything that he was not.

With a sigh he changed, albeit reluctantly. The bright white of the clothing made him feel so exposed, as if a target had been painted on his head. At least with black, he could always slip into some shadows, but white? It was plain useless, unless he was standing near snow.

Next thing, he thought as he reviewed his mental checklist, he needed to pack a backpack with materials or something of the sort. Tsuna grabbed a bag and slipped in a couple pencils and a notebook taken from Natsume's desk (he would buy more later in compensation); then he dug through the pants pocket of the clothes he had just discarded and took out two-dozen throwing knives and a gun. As a fighter, he knew better than to go anywhere unarmed, because throughout his life he had learned to expect the unexpected. He carefully hid all of the weapons and checked to make sure that no one would be able to spot them before heading back downstairs.

Ten minutes and a bunch of screams later, Natsume, Tsuna, and Reborn were standing at the front door. As they slipped out Nana's voice floated over to them, bidding them farewell, before the door closed and they were outside.

Of course Reborn followed them, ambling on the wall beside them, easily keeping up with the teens' longer strides. Occasionally Natsume's cheeks twitched when he turned around to look and found Reborn staring back, but otherwise the walk was not very interesting. Although, Tsuna supposed, Natsume did ask about why Reborn wasn't in preschool or something of the like, which earned him a well-deserved kick and a glare.

"Assassins don't go to preschool," Reborn answered petulantly.

With a small grin, Tsuna turned the corner of the street, the blond following close behind, but when he took one look around the corner Natsume quickly retreated back the way he came. Looking forward, Tsuna let out a soft sigh. Sure, Kyoko was pretty compared to average people, but looks weren't everything. He couldn't think of any other reason why the blond was crushing on her when she didn't spare him a glance, even now as she walked past.

But Sasagawa Kyoko did pause when she passed Reborn, kneeling down to gush about how amazingly cute he was. All Reborn did was to smile and repeat his trademark greeting, discreetly shooting looks at the flushed Natsume and the amused Tsuna.

"Why are you wearing a suit?" Kyoko was asking.

"Because I'm in the mafia."

"Uwa, how cool!"

Tsuna knew that she was just humoring him, because not one sane person would believe it if a baby said that they were in the mafia, and by all definitions, Kyoko was sane. Even so, he felt a slight pang of worry that Reborn was blatantly revealing his profession. It wasn't as if Mafiosi were popular amongst civilians; around the world the mafia was condemned for being criminals. Having relations to the mafia was enough of a crime to be sent to jail. Then again, it wasn't as if regular police could ever catch Reborn, so Tsuna just shrugged and let it slide.

Natsume seemed extremely annoyed by the entire encounter, and even more so when she cheerily bid the baby good-bye. "It's mafia seduction," Reborn said teasingly, "you can learn it later. You like her, don't you, Dame-Natsu?" When his student didn't answer but instead turned a deeper red, the smirk grew. "Have you told her yet?"

Natsume straightened, looking at the infant incredulously. "Of course not! Sasagawa Kyoko is the school idol, I'm not anywhere near her league. Confessing my feelings would be useless."

"Your loser complex is amazing," Reborn remarked, stopping for a moment and turning around to wait for the brunet. "Tsuna-san, come here for a moment." Curiously, Tsuna tilted his head to the side so that Reborn could hop onto his shoulder and whisper quickly into his ear. He frowned, not liking what Reborn wanted to do, but there was no real reason for him to intervene. After all, Tsuna wasn't Natsume's teacher, and wasn't truly obligated to help.

Reborn then hopped back down to the ground and dusted off his miniature pants. "It's time," he announced, "Dame-Natsu, time to die."

"Huh?"

Leon shifted into a gun, and a bullet came flying out.

Tsuna forced himself to stand still as the gun pierced Natsume's forehead, wincing as the boy fell back lifelessly. Reborn had assured him that it was perfectly safe, assuming that he would actually regret not confessing, but Tsuna couldn't bring himself to trust that assessment. His fingers balled into fists as he waited, watching the prone figure in concern.

It was only a few seconds later that one of the other civilians walking down the streets noticed that something was wrong. A woman shrieked in shock, and soon after people began to gather around the motionless blond lying face-down on the floor.

Just when Tsuna was about to round on Reborn, the blond stirred and…ripped off his clothes. Tsuna cringed mentally—he did _not_ need a view of Natsume's bony chest and boxers. Even so, he watched as the boy yelled something along the lines of confessing to Kyoko and sped away, a brilliant orange flame burning on his forehead.

Reborn then launched into a brief explanation about the mechanics of the dying will bullet, which he had conveniently left out from his previous explanation. Tuning the baby out, he watched the dust clouds settle, already fully aware of what the bullets did.

"But anyway," he said blandly, "you do know that Natsu-kun will hate you for this, right?"

Reborn grinned smugly. "He'll realize that it was for his own good."

Tsuna's gaze darkened. No, probably not.

* * *

The rest of the day passed rather quickly.

Apparently word had gotten around within a mere fifteen minutes of the incident until nearly the entire school had heard of Dame-Natsu's bold confession. Natsume, as Tsuna had predicted, was not happy at all.

To her credit, Kyoko hadn't seemed flustered during the confession. Surprised, yes—but it would have been completely strange if Kyoko hadn't reacted in the slightest. There is a certain level of shock that accompanies the fact that a half-naked boy, who never even talked to her once, decided to blurt out a confession for the world to hear.

When Tsuna mentioned this to Natsume, the latter grumbled angrily and turned his head away. Despite being influenced by the Dying Will, he had still been hurt when Kyoko rejected him with an apologetic smile, whether it was a question of his pride or not Tsuna didn't know. Originally Natsume had wanted to skip class for the day, because he flat-out did not want to see the rest of the school. The humiliation and helpless rage showed in his blazing eyes when he declared this to Reborn. All Reborn had done was grin and say that he could always make Natsume do something _weird_ again, which had effectively shut the boy up, but as he stormed away Tsuna felt a twinge of concern for their relationship. A warning would be a good idea, Tsuna thought with a sigh, but before he could muster the resolve to tell Reborn the infant had walked away. Shrugging, Tsuna changed his mind. It wasn't his problem.

In general, his transfer into the class was greeted with enthusiasm. It seemed that the girls of the class had decided that he was 'cute' and 'hot,' and suddenly he found himself showered with questions and approbation. The staff had taken the story that Reborn had provided without questioning, and the girls were even more gullible, giving him their immediate condolences because his family life was so rough. It was disgusting, completely disgusting, and it took all of his effort to maintain the amiable smile plastered across his face. They didn't understand, they had no right to say those statements for their own personal gain, and it infuriated him.

But Tsuna had had plenty of experience acting and lying; he hadn't managed to evade the mafia with only a modicum of skill. Maintaining a façade around oblivious girls was easy enough, all he had to do was to give them what they wanted to see. All they wanted to see was him smiling at them, so he gave them that, and if they noticed the irritation boiling in his eyes then they didn't point it out.

"Although," one of the girls commented, "I can't possibly see how you are related to Dame-Natsu. You're so much better."

Tsuna smiled chillingly, "Please don't say that, Natsu-kun _is_ my cousin."

He couldn't understand why they seemed to be so interested in him—though, he _was_ a transfer student. It seemed like transfer students weren't exactly common, yet they weren't rare either. They came from time to time, and with a few questions he understood that not all of them were received so well.

Stupid, judgmental fools.

During the interrogation, Natsume had been staring out the window pointedly, ignoring all of the pleading looks that Tsuna had cast him. He seemed to be irritated at the fact that Tsuna suddenly was so popular, while he was left an outcast. A few times though, Natsume, had tried to say something, but almost immediately other boys interrupted him, calling him a pervert and an idiot. Scowling in rage and embarrassment, he fell silent and refused to meet anyone in the eye.

Class was boring. Tsuna already knew all of the topics being taught, and saw no reason to not show it. He answered all of the questions with an ease that only seemed to make more girls infatuated with him. Below his genial smile he resisted the urge to scoff; the girls were all so _shallow_ it made him want to retch.

But he kept smiling, taking advantage of all of the social connections. It turned out that the girls were the gossip mill, which wasn't too surprising, considering how shallow they acted and how much they talked. Long ago he had learned to take advantage of what resources one had, courtesy of his own tutor at the time. So he asked about the school, and requested that some of them show him around the campus, a chance which the girls eagerly jumped at. Within ten minutes he had learned quite a lot of names, and decided to watch those who he deemed of interest, all of whom were just so strikingly similar to _them_ that Tsuna just couldn't ignore them.

One such person was a teen called Yamamoto: the baseball star, the girls had told him, who was the school team's ace. Every time Tsuna had looked at him, he was always smiling and sociable, and always laughing along with a couple of his classmates. To an ordinary person he seemed happy, but years of practice allowed Tsuna to see past the act with ease. He knew immediately that the boy was far from happy with his life, and judging from the bitter anger that occasionally resurfaced, was going to do something about it soon, if not too soon for his own good.

Another was Kyoko's brother, Sasagawa Ryohei. This one seemed overly enthusiastic about everything, and always liked to take things, as he would quote, 'to the extreme.' Like Yamamoto, Ryohei seemed to be very dedicated to his sport, although perhaps even more so. A quick trip to the boxing club room had shown that he was good; there was no one in the team that could match his skill.

Ryohei had made quite a ruckus when he had abruptly charged into the classroom, demanding to know if Kyoko was okay. Soon it had become clear that he had heard about the incident with Natsume—and judging by the glowers that Ryohei had sent, the white-haired teen didn't appreciate it. The teacher had seemed rather put-off by Ryohei's interruption, and quickly tried to shoo him away, but not quickly enough for Hibari to enter the scene.

Hibari Kyoya. He was another that Tsuna had decided to mark. Hibari, by all accounts, was fearsome and bloodthirsty, but undeniably strong. Hibari ran the disciplinary committee, and although he should have graduated he had decided to remain in the school. There were no positive comments about him—from the girls, at least—and it soon became clear that the entire school feared his presence. The prefect had long since garnered the respect of all of the students, and even the teachers seemed to fear his name.

The meeting between Ryohei and Hibari had been brief, but sufficient enough to provide Tsuna with many clues to their personalities. Ryohei had insisted on Hibari joining the boxing club, which the latter had promptly refused. Hibari had then tried to beat the boxer up, and the fight was taken outside—literally. Tsuna wondered how much the window repairs would cost.

Tsuna had also noted how the bullying directed at Natsume seemed to have escalated. In all his time watching over Natsume, the bullying had never reached the point where the teens would begin to get physical with him. That day, though, Tsuna witnessed Natsume taking the full brunt of a punch to the gut. Apparently Mochida and his followers weren't amused with his confession, and decided to pay him back for his impertinence. Mochida then announced having a match to settle the problem, with Kyoko as the prize.

Tsuna had walked away soon after that. He had no intention of interfering; Natsume's problems were his own, and if the blond ever wanted to mature, he would have to deal with them himself.

That afternoon, as Mochida had decreed, the fight was held. Natsume was forced to go, practically carried by his over-eager classmates, and had met the angry 'boyfriend' in the dojo. Though Tsuna had never had high expectations for the school in the first place, he was surprised by the amount of animosity he could feel for such mundane things, such as the bloodlust that every student seemed to radiate as they waited for the infamous Dame-Natsu to be pounded to the ground.

Slipping into the crowd to observe silently, he watched with growing distaste as Mochida declared Kyoko to be the prize of the little competition.

"What a jerk," a girl beside Kyoko muttered angrily.

Tsuna wholeheartedly agreed.

So Tsuna had laughed in amusement when Natsume, shot with the dying will bullet for the second time that day, had proceeded to rip out Mochida's hair. It was probably going a little bit too far, but Mochida was an asshole, so Tsuna didn't feel any sympathy for the whimpering boy. Any man who treated a woman like an object deserved it, and Mochida had tried to cheat his way into claiming a girlfriend in public by rigging the kendo equipment. A man with no honor deserved the humiliation that he received.

Tsuna had laughed again when Kyoko had approached Natsume with a grateful smile. His reaction was hilarious; Tsuna had never seen a tomato so red.

And so the day had passed, and night had fallen. The three of them—Tsuna, Natsume, and Reborn—were back home in their shared room. Natsume looked exhausted, but still had the energy to look angry.

"Reborn!" he snapped, rounding on the baby. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

Natsume scowled. "If it weren't for you, none of this would have happened! Granted, I did get to talk to Kyoko-chan, but still."

Tsuna sighed, he knew this confrontation was bound to happen. Natsume wasn't exactly the forgiving type. Debating whether or not he should warn the assassin this time, he turned to watch Reborn's reaction, but the arcobaleno was not helping matters. Reborn just scrutinized Natsume carefully and then turned away, stating that it was done "for fun."

Of course this led to a fuming Natsume, held back only by Tsuna from trying to punch his tutor. It seemed that the initial shock of having an assassin tutor him had worn off, and Natsume understood that Reborn needed to keep him alive for the sake of the Vongola. As such, he seemed to try to test the limits and to see how far he could go before being reprimanded severely.

Ten minutes later Natsume gave up and proceeded to scribble some nonsense into his homework and then brought out some books. He flopped onto his bed and began to read, tuning out the world around him as he immersed himself in the labyrinth of letters. It was a while later, after Reborn had gone through his failed homework, when the hitman suddenly spoke.

"Dame-Natsu, you like to read?"

Natsume nodded offhandedly. "Certain types of books only, textbooks are so boring."

"But it's still reading," Reborn said. "And speaking of reading, go look through your textbooks and correct all of the answers. You have ten minutes. If any of them are wrong, then…" The click of a gun resounded threateningly through the room. With a grunt, Natsume obliged, flipping through his homework and settling down to work.

Reborn glanced concernedly at Tsuna, and the brunet gazed back, reading the request in his eyes easily. For a moment he debated the consequences of doing so, but honestly, it didn't matter so much, and it was a simple request anyway. So with a tiny tip of his head he relented.

Tsuna shifted from his position on his bed, voicing the question that Reborn had wanted him to ask. "Which books do you like?" he asked as curiously as he could manage without expressing his complete apathy about the subject. Natsume's eyes flicked upward curiously, and Tsuna tacked on, "I'm bored." Well—it wasn't that much of a lie, but that wasn't the reason behind the question either. Most of the time, Tsuna found it easier to speak half-truths than to lie completely, a preference that had never truly changed over the course of time. "Can I see some of them?"

With a doubtful nod, Natsume stood up slowly and made his way around the room. Because the room housed two beds, it was very cramped. The bookshelves lining the room only seemed to emphasize the lack of space, pressing inwards from the walls; more than often it gave Tsuna a sense of claustrophobia that he'd rather not deal with.

Natsume fished out a couple of books from the bookshelves, placing them gently on Tsuna's bed. "These ones," he said quietly. "Don't ruin them."

Tsuna nodded and began to read.

Soon the room fell silent again, the quiet shattered only by the occasional rustle of paper. Reborn kept a close eye on Natsume, and if Natsume grumbled about the stupidity of searching for the answers, Reborn would fire a blank. The sound was enough to make Natsume refocus on the task at hand.

Ten minutes later the house once again fell silent, and Reborn didn't say a word as he looked through the answers. Tsuna continued to flip through one of the books; it was interesting enough, and it would kill time. Reborn then made the startling announcement that all the answers were correct this time, before handing back the papers and going to sleep.

Natsume rolled his eyes at this, and Tsuna gently urged him to visit Nana just to show that he was still alive. No doubt the woman was silently freaking out over hearing the crack of the gun again and again. Natsume nodded, and the two boys left the room. Tsuna made sure to memorize the page number of the book before setting it in his bag.

"Oh, and I'm going to borrow those books for a while," Tsuna remarked as they walked down the stairs. "Is that fine with you?"

"I'm fine with it. I've already read them many times anyway."

Nana was waiting anxiously downstairs when they arrived. Relief filled her expression when she saw that both boys were safe and unharmed. Tsuna had told her that they would be alright, but even if she believed it, she couldn't let go of her worry.

Something tugged at Tsuna's mind, and he looked up instinctively. He had the sneaking suspicion that Reborn was doing something…but then again, it wasn't his business to stick his nose where it didn't belong. If he was right, he would see the effects of his meddling the next day.

An hour later the two boys returned to their room and prepared to sleep, preparing for what was to come.

* * *

"The mafia boss," Natsume droned tonelessly. "A leader who rules a criminal organization. Able to move a number of trusted members with one hand, willing to risk even his life for his family, surrounded by the respect and admiration of all, seen as a hero by the children of the slums, blah blah blah this is ridiculous." Slamming the book shut, he threw it unceremoniously onto the floor and buried his face into his pillows.

An instant later a gun clicked to life. "Why is that?" Reborn questioned.

Glaring into the barrel, Natsume mustered as much courage as he could to stare down the assassin. "The first couple of words were okay, but really? 'Surrounded by the respect and admiration of all, seen as a hero by the children of the slums.' That's absurd, and you know it. Mafiosi are criminals."

"We may be criminals," Tsuna called over his shoulder, "but we are powerful criminals, and that makes all the difference."

It was morning. Reborn had oh-so-graciously woken Natsume up at four to 'prepare for school,' which led to Tsuna waking up at four. Tsuna had groaned and tried to fall back asleep again, but the amount of noise and chaos prevented him from doing so, not to mention that it was all happening in his room. Reborn had found the 'perfect book' for Natsume to read, and had forced the blond to read it at gunpoint, which had led to the current situation.

The morning came and passed quietly. Soon the two were at school, walking down the aisle talking about topics that they didn't care about. Since the incident the day prior, the school had suddenly decided to avoid Natsume altogether—which was a good thing, Tsuna decided, because if he stuck with Natsume, then none of the girls would dare to approach him for fear of having their hair ripped out. What a disaster that would be.

The only highlight was when a boy came up to them, asking for assistance in the upcoming volleyball game. He seemed to practically cower in fear at the prospect of talking to Natsume—especially when Natsume waved off the request. Taking pity on the dejected schoolmate, Tsuna had smiled apologetically before they moved on, leaving the stranger alone behind them.

The bell rung, the class was called to attention, and the teacher shuffled through the door with his arms wrapped around a stack of paperwork. Dumping everything messily across his desk, the teacher bustled back to the center of the room and cleared his throat obnoxiously.

"We have another transfer student today, one who previously studied in Italy. Gokudera Hayato, please come in."

"Tch."

Cheeks twitching, Tsuna turned his eyes to stare at the door. Practically anybody transferring from Italy wore a neon sign that said 'I'm a Mafioso, here to kill you!' or something of the like. Not exactly the most subtle person in the world, he decided. At least the assassins that came for Natsume previously had the tact to not reveal their presence and location willingly. He recognized the name; Gokudera Hayato wasn't well-known through the mafia, but still earned himself a reputation for being a bomb specialist. That, and for being an asshole. Reborn had made an interesting choice when he had called Gokudera over the previous night, certainly there were better choices out there.

Then again, Tsuna mused, he could see exactly why Reborn would choose the bomber to meet Natsume first above anybody else.

When Gokudera stepped through the door, Tsuna felt as though a sledgehammer had hit his head. Shock, nothing but shock, and he could barely think around it. Gokudera looked far too much like someone Tsuna had seen wither and die over the course of time. Curling his fingers into fists beneath the table, he shifted his focus from the silver-green eyes to a point above the bomber's head, flinging thoughts about rainbows and ponies around his mind to prevent himself from recalling the unnecessary.

Luckily Natsume seemed to draw the connection between Italy and the mafia, if his curiously blank face was any indication. All around the girls were whispering in their cliques, calling Gokudera 'hot' or something, and Tsuna really needed to find something other than gossip, rainbows, and ponies to think about as he tried to tune out the rest of his thoughts.

But his trusty instincts and intuition were still looking out for him. He could feel it when Gokudera's eyes scanned the room, landing first on Natsume with a narrow glare then proceeding to Tsuna and popping open. Without another word he stomped over in their direction, ignoring the horrified shouts of the teacher who was trying (and failing) to retain order in the classroom, causing stirs amongst the rest of the students.

When Gokudera's body entered his vision, Tsuna reluctantly lifted his gaze to stare at the painfully nostalgic face. "Which one of you is the Vongola Decimo?" Gokudera sneered, and the spiteful look made Tsuna's lips quirk. The bomber noticed his amusement and rounded on him, hissing, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Tsuna replied, plastering on the most innocent expression he could possibly construct at the time. At the very least, Gokudera's glower was entertaining, clearly not buying the act, as expected of a Mafioso with at least a modicum of a reputation. Tsuna didn't know what Reborn had put him up to, but the raw hate in Gokudera's eyes told him that it was nothing good. Reborn had undoubtedly showed Gokudera a picture of Natsume—hence the reason why the silver-haired teen was able to recognize him—but apparently Reborn hadn't told Gokudera that Tsuna would be there. While Gokudera knew that Natsume was the supposed Vongola Decimo, Tsuna looked far more the part than the latter did. Vongola Primo's appearance was well-known, after all.

Unfortunately, Natsume had no knowledge of what on earth he had implied by that question, though he did recognize the look of hate and distaste. Cautiously, Natsume said, "If I say that I am, what would you do?"

Gokudera's eyes flashed, and Tsuna was in motion even as the former drew his leg back to kick the desk. Before the blow could collide, an eraser smacked Gokudera in the center of his forehead, mixed with enough flames to make him stumble back from the force. His eyes honed and fixed on Tsuna with anger and accusation, and the latter stared back calmly.

"Not now," Tsuna said softly. "Wait until break, Smoking Bomb Hayato."

Gokudera stiffened and moved back, cataloguing the confused gazes of everybody else in the room, and he seemed to debate whether or not it would be worth it to not wait to just kill Tsuna and the Vongola Decimo once and for all. With a sigh, the brunet turned back in his seat and looked away pointedly. He could feel the watchful stare burning holes into his head as the bomber moved to the opposite side of the room, the glare never once leaving him.

Something tapped his shoulder, and Tsuna turned to meet Natsume's questioning eyes. "I'll tell you later," he mouthed, and the blond nodded. The two then focused on the rest of the class's questions, which were mostly along the lines of 'do you know him' and 'how.' Natsume thoroughly denied it, and the rest of the class quickly refocused on the teacher for the task at hand.

Time passed quickly, and soon the bell sounded for break. The moment it rang, Tsuna grabbed Natsume and tugged him out of the room. He could feel Gokudera's eyes still on them, and made a show of leaving as quickly as possible.

Tsuna dragged Natsume down a flight of stairs, weaving in and out of the crowd with fluid ease. They were halfway down to the next floor when he decided to speak again.

"Ah," he said suddenly, stumbling to a halt. He turned back and looked at Natsume apologetically. "I forgot something in my bag. I need to go back and get it. Natsu-kun, wait for me outside, will you? You'll find out why Gokudera-san hates you there."

Natsume frowned but nodded. Mentally smirking in satisfaction, Tsuna slipped back into the crowd and disappeared.

Instead of heading back to the classroom, he quickly turned to the stairs and headed up. He had a bad feeling about the nearing encounter that he had just set up, and had the feeling that he had to watch over them. He heard his name being called by a girl—Sasagawa Kyoko, if he remembered correctly—but ignored the words. He dashed to the roof, his footsteps rapid but silent, and made his way directly to the edge of the rooftop. Leaning against the fence slightly, he frowned and pulled away; the fence was close to breaking and wasn't safe.

He decided to crouch instead, pulled out a set of binoculars, and watched.

Gokudera and Natsume were standing outside the building; Reborn was positioned at the window a floor below him. Tsuna could make out the faint outline of the rim of the black fedora from where he was, looking down from above.

"I refuse to accept it!" Gokudera was snarling around his cigarette. "I'm the one who's fit to be the tenth!"

Tsuna stifled another chuckle, how stupid was he? He had to be a complete idiot to seriously believe that he had the ability to become the Decimo of the most influential famiglia in existence. Given his attitude, Gokudera would be killed within a few days of obtaining the position—maybe even within a few hours if not from vengeful servants in the Vongola then by his enemies.

Natsume glared daggers, his eyebrows knitting together. "What makes you think that you're so worthy?"

"I'm a much better choice than you," Gokudera sneered. "Even a few hours is enough to determine that you truly live up to your name, Dame-Natsu." At those words, dynamite seemingly materialized in between his fingers, and with a quick motion the fuses were lit. "Die."

A gunshot cracked, and Gokudera tched in annoyance as the dynamite fell to the ground harmlessly. The flaming fuses had been shot off with an insane precision. "Ciaossu," Reborn greeted as he blew at the dissipating smoke drifting from the gun, and pulled his fedora lower on his miniature head. "You came earlier than expected, Gokudera Hayato."

"You know each other?" Natsume asked.

"He's a member of the family that I called over from Italy. It's my first time meeting him as well, though."

Gokudera's voice was hard and cold. "So you're the Nono's highly trust assassin. You're not kidding about me becoming a successor if I kill this Sawada brat?"

The blond twitched.

"Yeah, that's right," Reborn answered cheerily. "Well, let's continue the killing."

At his words all became chaos again as dynamite was thrown all around. Natsume hissed in shock and leapt backwards, barely evading the blast. The force from the explosion knocked him off his feet, and he scrambled to stand in preparation for the next.

Natsume turned around and ran, trying to get away from the explosions. His eyes were wild and angry as he scanned the campus. As another explosion lit the ground a burning red, the blond turned the corner and froze. He had run straight into a dead end.

Above, Tsuna had set down his pair of binoculars and slipped out his knives. If worst came to worst, he could easily render the bombs useless. Yet Reborn hadn't made a move yet, and Tsuna was certain that the baby would not let Natsume get killed, no matter what.

So he paused and waited.

Natsume's breathing had slowed down considerably, and he seemed strangely calm at the prospect of death. His eyes were alight with helpless rage as he focused his gaze on the bomber, who was approaching with a vicious glare.

Gokudera's eyes glowed in triumph. "You lose, die."

With a single sweep, the bombs were sent flying into the air.

Reborn smirked and cocked his gun, firing a dying will bullet straight into Natsume's head. The blond's body jerked and collapsed lifelessly to the ground before the half-naked boy emerged from his clothing and started to scream.

"Reborn! I'll defeat Gokudera Hayato with my dying will!"

Then, abandoning all caution, he rushed into the maze of bombs.

The knives were in Tsuna's hands before he knew what was happening, and Tsuna could easily see what would happen. The dynamite would touch the ground, and the explosion that would rip through the school would make the previous ones look tiny. Natsume, Gokudera, and Reborn would all be caught in the blast.

He couldn't let that happen.

Apparently Gokudera didn't realize the danger of carrying so many explosives on him, because he decided that if _one_ explosion couldn't kill them all, then maybe _two _could. More bombs were sent flying into the air, and again, Natsume dodged all of them with ease.

And left them to fall onto the ground and explode.

Tsuna cursed the three of them for their immaturity—goddammit, who on earth allowed the tempered teen to play with _bombs_—and proceeded to gauge the distance with his eyes. With another flick of his wrist, a dozen knives were flying through the air, whistling from the sheer speed that they were travelling at.

The knives sliced the airborne dynamites in the air, snipping off the burning fuses with his immaculate accuracy. Tsuna ducked back away from the fence, hoping that Gokudera hadn't seen him. He could hear the colorful curses and also the thudding of the bombs against the ground, but no explosions ensued.

Thank God, he found himself thinking. Yet, he still had the feeling that something was missing…

Natsume's animalistic roar answered him.

Tsuna shot back to his feet and ran back to the edge, pulling the last dozen knives from his pocket. Natsume was a mere ten feet away from Gokudera, and as much as Tsuna disliked the bomber, he couldn't let Natsume beat the hell out of him. If he was right, then Reborn would try to recruit the bomber…and unfortunately, Natsume beating the hell out of him would not earn his respect.

Tsuna gritted his teeth.

Gokudera, enraged that his bombs had been rendered useless, seemed to figure that if he _tripled _the amount of bombs then it would work. He pulled more and more dynamite from his secret stash until he could barely keep them within his hands. Soon they were all lighted, and Gokudera was practically trembling with the desire to blow Natsume away.

"Die—" he growled as he prepared to aim.

Just as he was about to throw, a single dynamite fell from his hand.

Tsuna could see the fear cloud his eyes instantly, and he loosened the grip on the bombs. All the bombs, triple the amount that he normally threw, fell to the ground by his feet. And if that wasn't bad enough, Natsume was now five feet away from the enormous explosion that Tsuna hadn't accounted for.

"Dieee!" Natsume was shrieking.

"Shiiit," Gokudera was cursing.

Reborn pulled his fedora lower on his head and looked up, and his gaze meeting Tsuna's squarely. Tsuna could almost see the expectation in those endless black eyes.

Testing him.

"Screw you," Tsuna muttered irritably. This 'protecting' work was seriously getting on his nerves. It was like trying to keep two idiots from jumping off a roof high above the ground. Reborn's smirk was _not helping._

He had a dozen knives left; there were probably at least three times that amount on the ground. Throwing the knives into the fray would not help anything.

Tsuna slipped his blades back into their respective hiding places, before fingering the gun on his belt and closing his eyes. He silently focused, and felt the orange flame flickering to life on his forehead. As soon as he felt himself enter Hyper Dying Will Mode, he flipped off the safety and walked over to the edge of the fence.

His orange eyes scanned the area again, before narrowing slightly.

The trigger gave.

Orange flames shot from the gun in a vibrant beam of light, rocketing down the side of the building and racing toward the two teens. When the bullet of flames was nearly twenty feet away, the beam suddenly split apart into nearly forty streaks and each targeted different things. Tsuna guided the flaming bullets down to the fuses of the bombs, and each burning fuse was sliced off millimeters from the actual fire. Flicking his finger, the brunet watched with a satisfied smile as the dying will flames died out, leaving nearly three dozen harmless dynamites behind.

The remaining bullets continued to steak through the air, lighting a trail of brilliant orange behind them. They turned and raced toward the still-crazed blond, each slamming into a different pressure point with brutal force. Natsume fell to the ground unconscious almost instantly, leaving a stupefied bomber behind.

Tsuna slipped away from the railing as soon as possible, allowing the flame to fade from his forehead. He knew that Reborn would have some serious questions for him—seeing as he had practically copied Reborn's trademark Chaos Shot with ease—but for now, he needed to get an alibi. He headed down the rooftop, and turned the corner so fast he nearly bumped into someone.

The metallic glint of the tonfas alerted Tsuna to the upcoming swings. He took a hasty step back, but though he was moving quickly the strike came faster. Before he could twist out of the way, the cold metal had clipped his nose, eliciting a small yelp of surprise as Tsuna stumbled out of range.

Hibari stood before him, easily identified by his black Disciplinary Committee jacket, standing almost casually despite the weapons gleaming in his grasp. "For bumping into me, I'll bite you to death."

Tsuna raised his arms in a surrendering gesture, trying to look as sincere as possible. "Sorry, I didn't mean to." His brown eyes looked past the prefect and skimmed the crowd, all of whom were giving him pitying glances. None seemed inclined to help.

Hibari regarded him, inscrutable. "For having weapons on campus, I'll bite you to death." Smile flickering, the brunet made a move to step back when the bell chimed through the halls, signaling the end of break. Tsuna had never been so glad to hear the school bell in his short academic life.

"I need to get to class," he hedged, taking an experimental step forward.

Hibari gave him a short, piercing glare. "We'll finish this some other time," he said in a voice that promised pain.

Tsuna grinned cheerfully back at him and ran away before the prefect could change his mind.

Natsume and Gokudera weren't in the classroom when he entered. Tsuna hadn't expected them to be there. Natsume would be out for at least a couple hours from his bullets, and Gokudera… If Tsuna were to guess, Gokudera and Reborn were together, speculating about what had just happened.

Tsuna shrugged. They'll figure it all out eventually.

All in due time.

* * *

That night was spent in silence.

Natsume, after waking up, had been thoroughly annoyed to know that he had not managed to beat Gokudera up, and had been knocked out by Tsuna in order to prevent anything bad from happening. He seemed rather let down to know that Gokudera was not up for a rematch anytime soon. When Natsume had asked Reborn for the fifth time, Reborn had snapped and said that Gokudera was thinking things through.

Tsuna, on the other hand, seemed rather amused by the entire episode. Occasionally, Reborn would feel Tsuna staring into his back, as if daring the hitman to ask the question. What annoyed Reborn the most was the pointed, smug looks he had received whenever Tsuna and he would exchange words.

Reborn himself had no idea what to think of it. Tsuna was, undoubtedly, very skilled. He had known that from the day they first met. He just hadn't realized just _how_ powerful the teen may truly be.

When Reborn had shot Natsume with the dying will bullet, he had been under the impression that Natsume would not go after Gokudera, but instead would diffuse the flames. Obviously he had been very wrong, it had almost cost his trainee his life. He hadn't wanted to make a move, but instead decided to make Tsuna understand that it was a simple test—a test to see how skilled the young 'protector' was.

He did not expect to see Tsuna place himself into Hyper Dying Will mode. He did not expect to see Tsuna, practically a carbon copy of Primo, standing there with those calm orange eyes. He did not expect to see Tsuna, raising his own gun, and firing an edited version of his own Chaos shot—and utilizing that, hit all of the dynamite _and _knock out the rampaging Natsume easily.

Even though Reborn knew that he himself could have done it, it was still quite a shock to see his own technique used by another person.

Reborn didn't know what to think. He didn't know what Tsuna wanted him to think. His entire mind was trying to find a logical explanation of the entire incident, but he couldn't. He only had the sinking feeling that things would slowly turn for the worse, and that things would soon blow up in his face.

Reborn was resting in his hammock in the two Sawadas' shared room. He rested on his back and looked up at the ceiling, still trying to think things through.

That was when he got the call.

Leon shifted instantly into a phone, and Reborn quickly checked the caller ID. _Sawada Iemitsu_. He answered the call apprehensively.

"Ciaossu. Do you have the information?"

Iemitsu's voice was low and uncertain. "Yes, we do."

"What did you find?"

"We, the CEDEF, looked through all of the files in the mafia concerning a 'Tsunayoshi.' We found that there was a Tsunayoshi in the Nuevo famiglia and a Tsuna in the Beccio famiglia. There were also a decent amount of Tsunayoshi's in other minor famiglias, but nothing that could possibly cause trouble. However, they have alibis concerning the time that you first said that this '_Sawada _Tsunayoshi,'" Iemitsu spat the name, "first appeared. So, the Tsunayoshi of Nuevo and the Tsuna of Beccio cannot possibly be the same person as the one you are looking for. We then looked at the file records of Giotto, and looked over all of his descendants. We didn't find anything new. But then…we looked at his family…"

Reborn took a sharp breath. "What did you find?" When Iemitsu didn't answer immediately, he snapped, "Tell me now!"

Iemitsu's voice was oddly distant. "The thing is, up until now, we never bothered to look up his family. Only his descendants. But, Reborn…"

"What?"

"There is a 'Sawada Tsunayoshi' registered as Sawada Ieyasu's brother."

* * *

Edited 2/17/2013


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own.

**Beta'ed by ShamelessDilettante**

* * *

Reborn stared up at the ceiling as he lay on his hammock in the two Sawada's room. It was night, and while all around the town of Namimori it was peaceful, his mind was in absolute turmoil. Iemitsu's phone call had ensured it.

Sawada Tsunayoshi is Giotto's brother.

The first reaction he had was complete disbelief. At first glance, the mere idea seemed impossible. If the same Tsuna in Giotto's time is the same Tsuna as the mysterious brunet, then that meant that Sawada Tsunayoshi, whoever he was, had been alive for nearly four hundred years. The idea defied common sense; most people died before reaching the age of a hundred.

Yet when Reborn took another look at the idea, it seemed perfectly plausible. The world was, after all, a strange place, where anything was possible. For example, take himself. If talking babies existed, then why couldn't immortal teenagers?

Reborn also knew that he was still lacking important pieces of information. There just _had_ to be some reason why this Tsuna had survived so long, not just because immortal teenagers could exist. There had to be a logical reason why Tsuna was still alive, despite the merciless passage of time.

Then his mind had flitted back to all of the previous conversations he had shared with the brunet, and he found himself pale and tense. Many things that Tsuna had previously said had been hidden clues.

"_My name is_ _Sawada Tsunayoshi."_

"_What makes you think that I am lying?"_

_"__Tell Iemitsu that Sawada Tsunayoshi sends him his regards."_

Running those thoughts through his head, Reborn had little doubt that the Tsuna resting on the bed was the one and only brother of Giotto. It would explain how Tsuna's likeness to the original founder. It would also explain why Tsuna was also one of the rare skies. Though he knew that everything Tsuna did, everything he said, could be an act, deep within his gut Reborn sensed that even if it was just this once, somehow (though the assassin still hadn't quite figured out how the technical details worked) Tsuna was telling the truth.

Then, the horrible implications of what could possibly happen began to sink in. Now, knowing this information, Reborn knew that many things could go wrong with Natsume's succession. Especially now, given that all of the potential candidates for the guardians of Vongola Decimo looked like the first generation's guardians, and even acted similar too.

Reborn wasn't sure if Tsuna would act based on past relationships, but the brunet's interference in Gokudera's match against Natsume was not a good guide. In that fight, Reborn had practically asked Tsuna to interfere. The hitman couldn't be sure if Tsuna would react the same way if Natsume's life had not been endangered.

Either way, he would keep a close eye on Tsuna. If the teen were to make any move to take the title of Vongola Decimo, then Reborn would have to retaliate accordingly. Natsume was the designated heir, and there was no reason why Tsuna would have any reason—besides to try to match his brother's legacy—in taking over the Vongola.

But if Tsuna did—well, things could become very difficult indeed.

* * *

Tsuna lay on his side, listening to both the light snores from Natsume and the softer intakes of breath from Reborn.

Tsuna could tell that Reborn was still awake from his breathing pattern, who was no doubt trying to figure everything out. He had sensed the baby's confusion when he had entered the room to sleep, and immediately knew that the baby had found another crucial piece of information. He didn't know which one it was, but he was absolutely certain that Reborn still didn't know of his pacifier. Either way, there was no way that Reborn would be able to piece everything together, not with information that he currently had.

The only way he would learn everything was if Tsuna told Reborn the rest, or if Reborn talked to the Vindice. Only then would everything become clear…if Reborn would believe it, that is.

Tsuna forced his breath to remain deep and even, as his mind wandered elsewhere. The first thing that came to mind was the dark, angry face of a certain bomber.

_Gokudera._

His heart seemed to clench in pain, and he closed his eyes briefly as he worked to steady his breathing. Reborn most likely knew he was awake, but Tsuna didn't want the baby to recognize any weakness in him. He had, after all, initiated this 'game,' and he couldn't afford to seem weak. He was supposed to be a reliable person, without many needs. If Reborn found out just how broken Tsuna really felt, then he would realize that it was Tsuna himself that really needed the help.

When Tsuna had first seen Gokudera, his heart had nearly stopped. He had very nearly jumped out of his seat in incredulous joy and tried to hug the clearly antisocial teen. He almost couldn't help it, because the only thing he had registered when their gazes had first met was that G had somehow come back to life. Tsuna knew that he would have tackled Gokudera, if it wasn't for his rational side kicking in.

'G died centuries ago,' his mind whispered viciously. 'G is no longer alive.'

It was only when this thought came that he truly became aware of how much times had changed. He had instantly became aware of all of the technology and buildings around him, of all of the inventions that had not been around four hundred years before, and suddenly everything was so overwhelming that he couldn't breathe. He had become only too aware that Gokudera, no matter how similar they seemed, was not his G, and could never replace the void left by the first generation's inevitable deaths.

Of course, he had felt similar reactions when noting Yamamoto, Ryohei, and Hibari. It was eerie how their actions seemed to imitate those of Asari, Knuckle, and Alaude. Yet, none of them had been truly as close to Tsuna as G had been. Yes, Tsuna had noted their similarities, but he had felt oddly detached from the observations. Yes, he felt shocked and upset, but had observed them nonetheless. He had unwittingly buried his emotions and stifled them, trying not to recognize his raging emotions so as to not let them take over his mind.

After all, it was unlikely that Yamamoto, Ryohei, and Hibari were ever going to be involved in the mafia. As long as that didn't happen, then there was no reason why Tsuna should be concerned.

Gokudera's introduction, though, was painful, because G had practically been Tsuna's second older brother. It was like looking at his familiar 'older brother' and instead receiving a glare full of darkness and anger, but none of the warmth or recognition. It hurt so much—and there was nothing Tsuna could do about it.

Gokudera was not his G, after all.

Tsuna had known, from the moment he first laid eyes on the silver-haired bomber, that Gokudera would join Natsume's circle. That Natsume would be Gokudera's sky, and not him. That Tsuna, if he didn't get involved, would only be 'Natsume's pseudo-brother' to the storm, and nothing else.

He wasn't sure what had driven him to raise the gun, back when he had interfered with Gokudera's and Natsume's fight. Yes, it had been his duty to do so, but was that the only reason why? Tsuna knew himself well enough to know that no, Natsume's wellbeing and his self-imposed duty were not the only reasons why he had chosen to act.

Gokudera's wellbeing was the other reason.

After all, if Tsuna couldn't be Gokudera's sky, then the least he could do would be to protect him from unnecessary harm. Even if Gokudera was not the same as his G, there was still something that Tsuna could do to honor the redhead's memory.

Besides that, what else could he do but to cry silently, in his mind?

* * *

The morning came quickly the next day, and Reborn made certain to wake Natsume up with a grenade. After the ensuing chaos, Reborn hustled both the brunet and the blond out of their beds, and forced them downstairs with tired yawns. Nana scolded Reborn mildly for disturbing the neighbors, but Reborn shrugged nonchalantly, which caused the mother to drop the problem.

Soon after, the two boys found themselves scurrying out of the front door, followed by the tiny assassin. Natsume wasn't looking forward to going back to school. He could list so many reasons why, but the first that popped into his head took on the form of a name and a face: Gokudera Hayato.

Natsume wasn't too certain on what had happened when he had been shot with the dying will bullet. All that he remembered was an insane blur of events. It was like seeing flashes and glimpses of things—a jumbled mess that he was left to interpret for himself. All he could truly recall was a flash of orange and a hateful glare, as well as the overwhelming rage that had filled his entire being before all went black.

Although confused, he wasn't willing to ask his brother or Reborn. Something told him that asking either of them wouldn't be a good idea. He could sense that Reborn was oddly displeased with him, although for what he didn't know. Tsuna hadn't been there at the scene of the incident anyway—although that nagging little voice in the back of his head was telling him otherwise—and Natsume wasn't willing to divulge his scarce information on the event.

Either way, all that he was certain of was that he was not looking forward to another meeting with the silver-haired bomber.

The walk to the school was uneventful. Reborn was oddly quiet, and had consented to simply sitting on Natsume's head. No one spoke, and even an idiot would have been able to discern the sense of tension burning through the air.

Upon setting foot into the school, Natsume bid his brother a temporary good-bye as he made his way to the restroom. Reborn had vanished mysteriously, no doubt traveling through his little hide-outs that he had discovered throughout the campus, leaving the blond behind. Natsume wasn't sure if he was happy or unhappy with that fact, and after a brief pause, he decided upon the latter.

Natsume's eyes narrowed as he continued down the emptying hallway. He dropped his gaze down to the tiled floor and focused on identifying sounds—such as the telltale sound of the multiple pairs of footsteps heading straight for him. Without looking up he moved to brush past the group, but before he could so much as take another step a large arm darted across his vision.

"Hey, Dame-Natsu," the owner of the arm sneered into his ear. "How are you doing today?"

Natsume stayed silent, grinding his teeth together in an effort to keep still.

Laughter sounded across the hallway, and the group pulled him into an empty classroom. He watched blankly as the bullies wrenched the backpack off his back and proceeded to dump out the contents. One of them grinned as he ripped open his binder, slowly and decisively tearing the papers within it apart. Natsume caught his gaze, and the bully's eyes narrowed in anger, dropping and kicking the supplies away.

The binder-ripper stepped up close to him until they almost stood nose-to-nose. "Don't look at me like that," the bully snapped.

In the back of his mind, Natsume vaguely registered that he had been glaring. He cleared his face of emotion and gazed back at the binder-ripper passively, before allowing his gaze to slide away and focus on the rest of the bullies behind him. He couldn't recall their names, although he did know that most of them were in his class. In fact, his mind slowly processed that the boy he had dubbed as the binder-ripper was called Osamu…something. He frowned slightly when he caught sight of an all-too familiar face.

Mochida was looking at him emotionlessly, his face lacking its usual scowl or sneer. In fact, if Natsume didn't know better, he would have sworn that he had seen a small glimpse of pity. The look was gone in an instant, and Natsume decided that he was just imaging it.

Something slammed into his face, causing him to stagger back in shock and pain. His teeth descended on his lips, hard enough to draw blood. There was a loud clatter as his movement shoved away a couple desks, his legs groaning in complaint from the contact.

A snap, and then arms encircled his wrists and held him still. Fear slid into his mind for the first time since that day had started, and he snarled angrily. Hate darkened his features, and he could almost imagine his hazel eyes glowing.

Osamu glared back and slammed his knee into Natsume's gut, and the blond doubled over, gasping, as the air was roughly pushed from his lungs. His knees trembled slightly, and Natsume twisted roughly in an attempt to break free of his captor, but the grip was far too strong.

A hand snapped across his face, jerking his head to the side. Natsume bit his cheek and grimaced as the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. Something slammed into his chest again, and his legs gave out from under him; he collapsed onto his knees, hissing as pain jolted up his thighs.

"Learn your place," Osamu sneered from above, and for once Natsume kept his eyes cast low. With a satisfied air, the boy turned and walked away, but not before giving Natsume one last kick. Natsume refused to look up—he didn't want to see the group's contented smirks—and so he didn't see the concerned glance Mochida cast at him before the door slammed shut.

For a moment all was silent, the only sound the pants of breath coming from the blond's lips. Natsume groaned and rocked to his feet, gingerly pressing his hands to his chest. That last kick had been aimed at the same place that he had been hit before, and it was sure to leave a bruise. Nothing, though, was bad enough to require medical attention, not that he wanted to visit the school nurse anyway. If anyone saw him there they would point and laugh. 'Look at him,' they'd sneer, 'Dame-Natsu can't take it!'

He looked down at the scattered papers and materials. Someone had graciously snapped all of his pencils, and the binder was no longer usable. Nearly all of his notes were destroyed, as well as his homework. He supposed he shouldn't have been so angry—after all, he _was_ a failing student—but he found himself grinding his teeth in helpless fury as he eyed his possessions. Perhaps it was because he _knew_ that his homework was correct for once, or that he had actually expended energy to even try to do it in the first place. Then again, he had had no choice; after being held under gunpoint by Reborn, homework hadn't seemed so bad.

His fists clenched, his knuckles blanching at the pressure. _Hatehatehate_ bubbled up and burned within him, beneath his brown eyes.

He hated it that he was so weak. He hated it that he was so powerless to do anything. He hated the fact that it was only him being teased so mercilessly, and being treated as trash. He _hated _it, hated it with all his heart, and above all _hated_ the existence of those miserable fools.

He wanted to be like those heroes in books, those heroes that managed to save everything. Those heroes that were valued and cherished, loved and respected by all. Those heroes were always so strong, so powerful, and always found their happy ending. He wanted to be just like them—accepted for who he was, what he represented, and for all that he had done.

He wanted to be just like those heroes, dealing out justice for all that deserved it. He wanted to be one of the heroes, revered by everyone around him, and treated like a king. He wanted to be able to fight, to protect himself, and more than anything else, to exact justice on all those that had inflicted pain upon him.

Yes, that was all he wanted. That was all he desired…

And with Reborn by his side, he knew he could reach it.

Suddenly Natsume laughed, the sound broken and disjointed to his ears. It carried on for a while before finally dying down, his eyes burning with a renewed determination.

Even if it was the last thing he did, he would make sure that each and every one of them would _pay _for what they had done to him.

* * *

Yamamoto was troubled.

There was still twenty-five minutes to class, and there were only a few people wandering around the campus. He was grateful for that; there were less 'friends' and admirers that he had to greet, and overall just less emotional stress.

So he was surprised to see a rather large group of people exit a classroom. They were joking and laughing, looking extremely satisfied and pleased with themselves. The simple sight set off warning bells in his head—that group, if he remembered correctly, was a group of bullies that most of the class tried to steer clear of. If they looked so openly satisfied, then it could only mean one thing: someone had been hurt.

Yamamoto waited until they were gone before approaching the door they had exited, putting his hand against the doorknob. He hesitated briefly as he wondered if opening the door was the best choice of action. After all, nobody would like to be seen teased and humiliated. However, it went against his beliefs to allow a peer to suffer alone when he could help him or her. Yamamoto paused, mulling over his choices, when suddenly the most frightening laugh he had ever heard echoed through the classroom door.

It was dark and angry, bitter and upset. It was the sound of a tired, broken child, one who simply wanted everything to end. Yamamoto understood that dark, miserable feeling—in fact, he was already considering disappearing—and suddenly felt a strange surge of bravery. Before he could change his mind, he determinedly pulled open the door.

He wasn't sure what he had been expecting to see, but it wasn't what he saw.

Dame-Natsu was standing in the middle of the room, staring blankly at the floor. Scattered around his feet was a mess of broken supplies; Yamamoto counted two ripped binders, seven snapped halves of pencils, and countless pieces of shredded paper. Desks had been pushed away in a rough circle from where the mess was, with various articles tossed on or underneath the desks and chairs.

Natsume tensed, his eyes wild and angry as they snapped up to Yamamoto when he moved forward.

Yamamoto flashed a soft smile at the teen, careful to avoid the use of his nickname. For a moment he fumbled through his memory; how long had it been since he last heard anybody use the blond's actual name? "Good morning, Natsume," he grinned cheerily, it had taken a while to recall it. Calling him Natsu wouldn't have sufficed.

Wariness flickered in those dark eyes. "Yamamoto-san." Blinking, Natsume seemed to realize where he was and what lay around him, and he dropped to the floor and silently began to pick up his tattered belongings. As Yamamoto watched him, he couldn't help but feel pity for the bullied, injured teen.

His arm reached out and slowly began to gather some of Natsume's things. Natsume eyed him for a moment before resuming the clean-up. Together, the two of them slowly but surely gathered up every little thing, separating the usable from the unusable in two visible heaps.

"Thank you." Natsume lifted the mess of unusable trash. Most of his supplies had wound up in the pile, despite the two boy's attempts at salvaging it.

Yamamoto waved it off. "No problem."

After Natsume threw away the useless material, the blond filled his backpack with what remained. There was very little compared to the unusable materials, but at least it was something.

Yamamoto found the smile sliding from his face as he eyed the hunched form in front of him. Natsume's lip was bloody, his cheek red and swollen. His uniform was rumpled and dirty. Yamamoto had known that Natsume was being bullied, but had never realized that it had gotten too far.

For how long had it been like that?

He cursed himself silently. He had always blamed everybody around him for not noticing his true emotions. He always lived behind his mask, hiding his loneliness behind a smile, and it always hurt to know that no one ever noticed it. Not a single one of his acquaintances had ever noticed his fears and troubles, and never noticed how much their words _hurt_.

He hated it. He hated how everybody only looked at him because of his skills, and only looked at him because they wanted to use him. They only talked to him out of personal gain, so that they could overcome whatever obstacle was thrown at them without much difficulty. He hated it how they still claimed themselves as his friends.

Because really, that's not what friends do…right?

"Yamamoto-san?" Natsume's words cut into his mental rant, and the baseball player stiffened. Amber eyes flickered and met Natsume's hazel, and Yamamoto realized that Natsume had been calling his name for some time now.

Yamamoto pulled another smile. "What is it?"

"Class starts in fifteen minutes."

Yamamoto slung his arms behind his head. "We still have time, let's talk!"

And Yamamoto truly _did_ want to talk for once. Natsume was, in a strange sense, similar to him. He desperately needed to talk to someone, but he never had a single friend that he trusted enough to confide personal information with. He needed to talk about his troubles; his worries had been suppressed for too long and he was worried that it would explode.

Perhaps Natsume would understand.

"Talk," Natsume repeated dully, and Yamamoto nodded. "Talk. I can talk. In fact, I don't want to have this talk later since we are still alone. Tell me, Yamamoto-san. Why did you help me?"

Yamamoto faltered, "Because—"

"You pitied me, didn't you?" The hazel eyes were blazing, almost a brilliant sunset orange. "You saw me standing there, hurt and upset, and _pitied_ me, didn't you?"

Yamamoto couldn't answer. It was strange, he thought distractedly, how he was able to lie so well but couldn't bring himself to say a single 'no.' He knew it was not true—he _did _recall feeling pity, and still felt it now—but just couldn't bring himself to say otherwise.

All at once he realized what mistake he had made. He had assumed that Natsume had calmed down after cleaning up, and would be more free and willing to talk. He had assumed that Natsume would be happy, cheerful even, for no distinct reason. Yamamoto had never talked to Natsume before in his life—everybody tended to avoid Dame-Natsu—and didn't know much of his personality.

No, Natsume was far from happy. Being bullied by everybody around him only made him untrusting of his surroundings. Natsume, after all, wouldn't know otherwise that there might be someone who wouldn't tease him for his faults and mistakes. Then Yamamoto, one of the most popular boys in the school, entered and decided to randomly help him, for seemingly no particular reason.

No reason except pity.

"You did," Natsume said quietly, and his tone nearly made Yamamoto flinch. Without looking back, Natsume shoved past him and made his way toward the door.

On reflex Yamamoto's hand shot out and caught the blond on the wrist. "Wait—"

"What for?" Natsume snarled. "There's nothing left to say. I don't know about you, but I _hate_ being pitied. Pity is for the weak, and pity is for those that you look down upon. I don't need anybody to feel sorry for me, not to mention you of all people."

"I—"

"What about you?" he snapped. "You don't have the right to complain about your life. You have everything—friends, admirers, acceptance. What have I got? Nothing. You have baseball. I have bullies. The worst that could possibly happen to you is that you lose a game, and God knows what a disaster _that_ would be." His voice dripped with sarcasm. "And even if you do mess up, you can always put more effort into your practice and try again. What do I do besides dream about resetting my entire life?"

Yamamoto flinched at his words.

"I—"

"Save it. I don't want to hear it."

Yamamoto let go of his hand, and Natsume stormed out of the room. The door slammed shut behind him, echoing loudly throughout the hallway.

Yamamoto stared blankly at the wall, trying to sort his mind out. As much as he wanted to go after the teen again, he knew that it was not a good idea. Natsume was too riled up to be reasoned with. He sighed and buried his face in his hands, breathing deeply in an effort to reconstruct his mask.

When he was certain he could smile again, he picked up his bag from its place on the ground.

Natsume's rant, ironically, had given him his answer to his slump. He hated knowing that his personal happiness might stem from someone else's anger, but there was nothing to do about it anymore. He couldn't fix the situation in any way except by letting it die down.

Yamamoto was determined to make friends with Natsume. As angry as Natsume might be, Yamamoto couldn't imagine himself leaving Natsume to deal with his bullies alone again.

But first he would stay after school to practice. First he would try to salvage his own school life and all the problems stemming from the sport called baseball.

* * *

Drumming his fingers in annoyance, Tsuna bit back a sigh as he watched the classroom door. Natsume had come to school half an hour early and still wasn't in class. More than half of the classmates were already in the classroom, although there was still five minutes left before the bell would ring.

He himself had also been preoccupied before class had started. More specifically, he had been trying to avoid Hibari. Though Tsuna knew the layout of the campus by heart, the prefect seemed to know exactly where Tsuna would try to go. Hibari seemed intent on trying to get Tsuna to fight him—something that Tsuna was not willing to do.

Tsuna knew that Natsume had his own issues to sort out—namely, the bullying. He had seen the bullies heading in Natsume's general direction after the two brothers had separated, but Natsume's fights were not his own, and if the blond wanted to mature then he would have to fight his own battles instead of relying on someone else to solve the problems for him.

The aimless chatter in the room died off in sound when the door slammed open viciously, and Tsuna grimaced. Gokudera entered the room, hands shoved deep into his pockets and a scowl written across his face. The bomber took one look at the classroom and relaxed minutely before stalking over to his seat. Dropping his bag at his desk, he walked over to where Tsuna sat.

Wiping his face clean of emotion, Tsuna leaned back in his seat and pulled his eyebrows up inquiringly, "May I help you?"

Gokudera's eyes bore into his own. "Who are you to Natsume-san?"

Tsuna noted the respectful, yet distant, tone in his voice. He had been expecting this since the day before, and it was truly a miracle that he had managed to get through the day before getting bombarded with questions. "I am Natsu-kun's cousin," Tsuna lied with ease. "Unfortunately, my parents are busy, and needed to send me somewhere where I can get an education. So for now I am living with Natsu-kun with his mother."

Gokudera grunted. "Where were you yesterday during break?"

"In the hallways of the school," Tsuna returned. "Being fairly new and all, I decided to use my break to explore more of the campus. Why?" He kept his face innocently blank. It was another half lie: yes, he had been in the hallways of the school, but only for a brief period of time. He had memorized the entire campus ever since Natsume had first enrolled. It was only on the first day of school that he memorized the interior, and actively strolled through the hallways. Of course, Tsuna already knew why the bomber was asking—Gokudera was perplexed by the identity of the one who saved his life. Tsuna wasn't sure how far Gokudera would go to dig into it, but he really did not want him to discover that Tsuna was the one who had saved him. It would cause too many unnecessary complications that he did not want to deal with.

Luckily, Hibari of all people would be able to support his claim—if he wanted. Tsuna was fairly certain that Hibari wouldn't, but if it became necessary Tsuna could just tell the bomber that he had run into the prefect. If Gokudera knew what was good for him, he would avoid the topic after that, in order to avoid the bloodthirsty skylark.

Tsuna was hoping that he would leave, now that he had gotten an answer (though not the one he was looking for), but then Gokudera asked another question. "I know you're in the mafia. Otherwise, you wouldn't know my identity as the Hurricane Bomber." Tsuna nearly rolled his eyes, what a genius he was. "Tell me: what family do you belong to?"

"Vongola. Did you really expect anything else?"

"Then—"

"Yes, yes, my background is not very truthful. I'm with Natsu-kun for mafia business, not family business. Although in some contexts the two are the one and the same." Gokudera twitched. "Before you ask, I'll tell you now: I am merely here to help protect Nana-san and Natsu-kun." Gokudera's brow furrowed, but he didn't answer, and Tsuna took the opportunity to steer the conversation in a different direction. "Reborn-san told me that you challenged Natsu-kun the other day for the title of Decimo. I take it you didn't win?"

"Someone interfered," Gokudera snapped. "I didn't lose to Natsume-san."

Tsuna raised an eyebrow. He didn't expect Gokudera to tell the truth, but perhaps the bomber felt like he owed it to his savior. He obviously wasn't very happy about admitting his potential death.

Just then door slammed open again, and Tsuna frowned. Natsume stormed into the classroom, his face moody and dark. His backpack seemed smaller than when they had walked to school, and the boy was now sporting a split lip and a swollen cheek. Whatever had transpired hadn't gone so well.

When Natsume saw Gokudera and Tsuna close to each other, he scowled and looked at them challengingly. Gokudera looked uncomfortable as he moved back to his designated seat, allowing the two brothers some room.

"What was that about?" Natsume practically growled.

Tsuna clicked his tongue mildly, "Don't take your anger out on me, I'm not here for stress relief."

Natsume took a deep, shuddering breath. "Sorry, it was a bad morning."

"I see."

Class began soon after that, filled with droning the teacher's voice and boring material. Natsume was berated openly about not having his homework, at which the blond had sneered but didn't say anything. A couple of the classmates shared amused glances—Natsume's bullies, no doubt—but overall, the class was quite subdued.

During break, Tsuna told Natsume about their conversation. He simply said that Gokudera had questioned how Tsuna was related to Natsume, since apparently it was known that Natsume had no siblings. Natsume accepted the explanation without a word, although he was quick to change the topic after that.

Lunch came and passed, which was spent on the rooftop. Surprisingly, Gokudera had joined them, saying that he was to guard the Decimo. Both Natsume and Gokudera looked uncomfortable being around each other, which Tsuna thought was acceptable; no one can act the same around another person after trying to kill them, after all.

Occasionally, the trio heard the distinctive sound of a baseball bat making contact with a ball. At the first crack, Natsume looked surprised and then grinned to himself subtly. Tsuna wondered what had happened between Natsume and Yamamoto.

Plus, Reborn didn't try to kill them, which was a definite miracle. Tsuna could feel the eyes on him the entire time, and just wished that the arcobaleno would hurry up and ask the question. It got to the point where Tsuna decided to pull Reborn away and ask him privately.

"So?" he asked, allowing a smirk to form. "What is it that you are dying to ask about?"

Reborn watched him, his expression unreadable.

Tsuna sighed. "We both know that you learned something new, and would like to ask me about it. I'd really prefer it if you wouldn't keep glaring at me, and would just ask it aloud. So, what is it?"

Reborn paused, rubbing his spiky hair beneath the black and orange fedora. "Yesterday and today, I received calls from the head of CEDEF. He said that Giotto, in fact, had a younger brother, whose Italian name was Fortunato. He also said that this 'Fortunato' changed his name when Primo came to Japan, to none other than 'Sawada Tsunayoshi.'" Reborn's eyes focused on his, a glint of wariness shining in them. "So let me ask you this: are you him?"

Tsuna paused for effect. "Congratulations!" he clapped sardonically. "You figured one piece out. Now tell me: can you figure out what it means to you or your future?"

"If you are related to Primo, then your blood can be accepted as the next heir to the Vongola. Answer me, Fortunato, Sawada Tsunayoshi: do you plan to take the title of Vongola Decimo?"

"Just 'Tsuna' is okay," Tsuna said teasingly. "If I really did want to be a Vongola boss, don't you think I would have done something already? At this point, I really couldn't care less about fame and power. As long as I can complete my 'purpose.'"

"Purpose?" Reborn asked.

"It's a secret."

Tsuna almost laughed at his expression. It was hilarious, it was; it seemed so funny to have the number one hitman looking so confused and on edge. The amusement allowed him to tear his mind away from the mess of the reality that he lived in, even if it was for the briefest of moments.

Reborn's voice came again. "Then if you're not here for the title of the Vongola, then why are you here?"

Balancing on the heels of his feet, Tsuna frowned, figuring out what he should censor from his words. "Originally, to protect the Sawada's from the mafia, Iemitsu notwithstanding. Now that you're here, I don't have to worry anymore, and now I'm staying because I have nowhere else to be. I have to kill time doing something."

"You've been protecting them for ten years." Tsuna nodded his head in confirmation, and Reborn glanced at him warily. "You're here anyway, you might as well continue to protect them. But because Dame-Natsu is the sky, his famiglia also falls under your care, and you should protect his potential guardians as well if not for his mental health then because they will be close to him. In the future, this may extend to the rest of the Vongola—if you choose to join."

Tsuna nodded, ignoring the last couple of words, he was bored anyway. "Who are the potential guardians?"

"For the Storm candidate, I have Gokudera Hayato. For the Rain, Yamamoto Takeshi." Tsuna's mind flitted back to the baseball player and he froze. No no no, Asari's look-alike couldn't get involved too, not if he wanted to retain his sanity. Perhaps Reborn saw some of his pain because he said, "Remember, Tsuna-san, that this is nothing more than a sharing of information. I do not care about what rejections you may have about my choices, unless you can present me with a better candidate. If you try to interfere, I will have to act accordingly, and you do not want the entire Vongola on your tail."

Tsuna gritted his teeth in frustration.

"That is all for now," Reborn said formally. "Let's return to Dame-Natsu and his new subordinate."

* * *

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Gokudera disappeared after school, leaving the two brothers and the baby to walk home together. The walk was quiet and subdued, as each was engrossed in their own thoughts.

After retuning back to the Sawada residence, Tsuna went out once more. He honestly couldn't bring himself to deal with Reborn at the moment.

Tsuna was beyond upset that Reborn was trying to draft Yamamoto into the mafia. The boy was already living a hard life, and Tsuna was fine with leaving him to his own devices. Tsuna didn't want Yamamoto to become a fighter, much less a killer. He wanted Yamamoto to live a normal life, like a normal teenager deserved.

Yet, despite this, he couldn't do anything. Reborn said it clearly: if he tried to take Yamamoto out of the mafia then it would be considered a move against the Vongola. Tsuna wasn't officially Natsume's anything, and to the Vongola, he was nothing but a wildcard. Tsuna knew this, and understood that they were just being careful, but he couldn't risk having to be sent on the run.

It wasn't as if Tsuna doubted his own abilities. Four hundred years had given him plenty of time to hone his own skills in many different areas. No—it was because _they _had asked him to stay with the Vongola, in case they needed to contact him immediately. Granted, communicating was still rather inconvenient, but it was better than having to track him from God-knows-where in some secluded corner in a tiny country in the middle of nowhere.

Technically, Tsuna owed _them_ nothing, they were merely acquaintances and friends. But they were the thing closest to him, the things the most similar to him, and the thought that there was something in the world remotely similar made him feel happier, even if it was just in his head.

_Similar, but not the same._

Tsuna ground out a bitter laugh. His circumstance was rather unique, and that made him feel very isolated and lonely. No one could understand how he felt about his own ordeal, and most likely no one ever would.

To his surprise, he found himself wandering into a park. His mind had zoned out momentarily, and he was surprised to have reached a destination already. He sighed and maneuvered beneath a shady tree, watching the children play on the playground from afar.

A shout, and then a silver-haired boxer came barreling down the sidewalk. Tsuna's lips curved into a small smile; Sasagawa Ryohei was just the same as Knuckle. It really brought him back to the old times, although with his memories came the bitter understanding that what he had previously had was now all gone.

He pressed his back against the trunk. It wasn't good to be dwelling on the past. He needed to move on into the uncertain future, before his memories would break him apart.

With a frown, he closed his eyes and did the only thing he could think of doing. He sighed.

* * *

"Yamamoto-san is about to jump off the roof!"

Tsuna shot to his feet immediately, forcing calming breaths through his lungs. "What happened?" he asked the boy who had shouted—Osamu, was it?

Osamu looked at Tsuna, dropped his gaze down to Natsume, and sneered as if revolted by what he saw. "When he stayed after school to practice yesterday, he went too far and broke his arm. We should head up to the roof."

Tsuna nodded, noting the dark look in Natsume's eyes, it seemed like their relationship was anything but good and could potentially get worse, much worse. He shook his head—he would have to deal with it later. Tsuna shook the blond roughly in the arm, before dragging him up the familiar path to the roof.

Natsume was squirming, his face morphing into an expression of horror and guilt. "It's my fault—I didn't mean to—"

"Save it for later," Tsuna interrupted. "We need to prevent him from jumping."

"But—"

"Just be quiet."

Natsume fell silent, face wracked with fear and horror.

The two of them burst onto the roof, only to encounter an enormous ring of people. They all stood a good thirty feet away from Yamamoto, which really didn't help anything. Nobody seemed willing to step past that thirty-foot mark to try to physically stop the raven-haired teen. Tsuna sneered. They were all just brainless pricks, all of them! Stupid, selfish people who only wanted Yamamoto alive for their own gain.

"Go on," Tsuna said, gesturing Natsume forward. "If you say this is your fault, then it is your responsibility to fix it. You should be the one to fix this mess."

Natsume looked at him in desperation. "I said some really horrible things to him. I can't face him."

"You'll have to, if you want him to survive." Tsuna's eyes softened. "Here, I'll go with you. I'll be beside you, so all you have to do is talk."

Natsume, looking rather pale, slowly nodded.

The two of them shoved their way to the front, Tsuna apologizing to those who looked offended. It really irked him how they could be so irritated by some minor touch when there was somebody about to die in front of them, and it really really irked him that none of them seemed to be willing to do a thing. They all just stood there uselessly, watching, unwilling to be the one person that would step up and potentially save or destroy a life.

"Yamamoto?" Natsume called uncertainly.

Yamamoto turned around. "Natsume…Tsunayoshi."

"Hello, Yamamoto-san," Tsuna said. He took one look at Natsume and sighed; Natsume seemed rather reluctant to continue the conversation. Which was normal, he supposed, if he was uncertain about where the conversation would go and what would be said. After all, words could destroy a life just as easily as a gun could.

"If you've come here to try to stop me, it's no use," Yamamoto said. Tsuna frowned at the loneliness and sadness that those amber eyes showed, that level of isolation wasn't normal.

"I didn't come here to try to stop you," Tsuna said flatly, which elicited gasps from everyone present. "I came here because this idiot—" he pointed at Natsume "—needs to talk to you. At the very least, listen to him and then die. That's all I came up here to say."

Yamamoto's eyes flickered, and he smiled bitterly. "I see."

Tsuna ignored the comment.

Natsume stepped forward hesitantly, as if worried that one wrong move may drive Yamamoto over the edge. "Yamamoto-san…"

Suddenly the focus of both boys was solely on each other. Neither of them seemed to register the fact that there were more people around them. Tsuna leaned back grimly, wondering how it would play out.

Yamamoto's crooked smile didn't leave his face. "As you can see, I took your words to heart yesterday. I stayed after school to practice. What help _that _did me. What you said was true. I _do_ have it better than you. But you see, baseball is my life. My fielding was already screwed up, and now I can't even hold the bat. Life is cruel, don't you think?"

"Don't say that," Natsume replied quietly.

Yamamoto let out a strained laugh. "You probably would understand the most. After all, wouldn't you rather die than to continually fail at everything?"

"Don't say that!"

Everybody was silent, as if holding their breaths. No one dared to interfere.

Natsume looked at him guiltily. "I didn't mean what I said yesterday, about your circumstance. I was being mean and very inconsiderate. I was really upset, and I let it get too far into my head. I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I'm sorry. Yesterday, I said that all you had to do was to put more effort into practicing. The truth is, that was completely hypocritical. Unlike you, I've never tried to place an effort in anything, so I wouldn't know."

Natsume paused to get a breath, watching Yamamoto carefully. He didn't seem to have much more to say. Tsuna frowned. It wasn't enough.

"You say that I am similar to you," Natsume was saying, "but I just may be the complete opposite of you. You're wrong, because I don't understand. I don' understand, and I probably never will. That's all I can really say."

It still wasn't enough. Yamamoto was watching him expressionlessly now, an unreadable expression in his face. It was clear that he still wasn't convinced.

Tsuna bit his lips, debating silently in his mind. He had a good idea what needed to be said, but Natsume needed to be the person who said it. Reborn had clearly mentioned that he shouldn't interfere…

But Yamamoto was about to die, wasn't he? He was about to jump. Reborn had told him that he was responsible with the lives of the entire future family, whoever they were, and Yamamoto counted. It was part of his responsibility to prevent him from jumping.

Responsibility…responsibility. He smiled sadly at the repetition of words. No—it wasn't purely responsibility that was causing him to act. When he looked at Yamamoto, another person's image came to his mind—the grinning Asari, with his light tone and words. Asari, who wasn't as close to him as G, but certainly counted as a close friend of his brother's. Asari, who had inevitably passed with the progression of time.

Reborn might kill him for this, but he knew for certain that he wouldn't regret his actions.

He couldn't allow Yamamoto to die.

"You say that life is cruel," Tsuna said softly, and all attention fixed onto him. Natsume shot him a thankful look for taking the proverbial spotlight off of him.

Yamamoto's eyes flickered.

"You say that life is cruel, and I agree. Life _is_ cruel; life's not fair; it was never fair to begin with. From the time we are born to the time we die, nothing is ever fair in life. But I think that life is precious. Everybody only lives once, and we don't even live very long. It doesn't do any good to try to end it prematurely when so many good things could still happen, wouldn't you agree?"

Tsuna's words died away in the wind as Yamamoto slowly absorbed his words.

Natsume piped up unexpectedly. "I agree with Tsuna-nii. You say that I'd rather die. That's not true. There are people that care for me, and I know it. There are people that would care if I disappear from the world. There are some of those for you."

That was the wrong thing to say. Yamamoto's eyes flashed. "What would you know? You don't even have any friends! Do you know what it feels like to be _used_ by other people? To have other people declare that they truly care when they don't? I'll tell you, it hurts!"

"What about your family?" Tsuna interjected. "Tell me, Yamamoto-san, what about your family?"

Yamamoto reeled back in realization, barely maintaining his balance on the edge of the roof.

Natsume drew in a deep breath. "I may be 'Dame-Natsu,' but even I have people who care about me. My mom would care if I died. Tsuna-nii would care if I died. Surely your family would miss you too!"

Tsuna smiled softly. He could tell from the dawning horror on Yamamoto's face that they had successfully convinced him.

Suddenly, Natsume seemed to realize where he was, and he spun away from Yamamoto, calling a quick good-bye, eager to get away from the person he had nearly driven to death.

"Wait, Natsume—"

There was no warning, except for the groan of metal as Yamamoto leaned slightly over the edge of the fence. Yamamoto's hand shot out and clamped around Natsume's wrist. Natsume cried out, losing his balance, and fell back against the fence lining the roof's edge.

Tsuna knew immediately what would happen—his mind raced as he recalled that the fence was extremely fragile—and he ran toward the edge of the roof. The fence snapped with a loud crash, as Natsume's weight carried both him and Yamamoto over the edge.

"Dammit—" Tsuna snapped.

Everybody was screaming. Shouts of horror and fear lit up the entire sky, producing an annoying din. Tsuna was shouting at Natsume to catch Yamamoto, because he did _not_ want to have to resort to knives or other weaponry to help save the two from falling. Normally he wouldn't have minded, but the classmates around him certainly would notice if he used anything illegal, and silencing them would be too much of a pain.

Natsume heard and moved to obey. He twisted in the air, trying to catch Yamamoto's leg as they fell. After a split second of panic his hands gripped Yamamoto's pants, and they were connected.

"Hold on!" Tsuna shouted, and Natsume braced himself. Tsuna flung himself against the edge of the roof, leaning down until he faced the ground. His hand struck out like a viper and gripped Natsume's flailing arm, slamming the two's fall to a halt. Tsuna grimaced as he felt the weight of both teens pulling on his arm.

"Natsu-kun!" he called over the edge. "Hold onto him as long as you can."

"Hurry!" Natsume groaned.

Tsuna nodded, and quickly proceed to pull the two back onto the roof. They all collapsed once they were back on solid ground, careful to avoid the fence.

Cries of relief sounded from the other classmates, and Tsuna had to force his face to be expressionless. In the end, not a single one of the other classmates had helped out. He wondered if they really wanted Yamamoto to survive at all, or if they remotely cared. Broken toys weren't useful, after all. People surged forward, eager to ask if Yamamoto was okay, but judging from his pale face the baseball player was not. Making a split-second decision Tsuna dragged both him and Natsume to their feet, the latter shaking from the near-death experience.

"We're going to the infirmary," Tsuna said every time someone asked. "Yamamoto needs to rest."

Yamamoto allowed himself to be guided off of the rooftop and through the school, supporting Natsume slightly with his own weight. When they reached the infirmary, they found a fussy old woman there, who immediately sent them to lay on separate beds to rest after hearing of the near-suicide.

The moment she was gone, Tsuna was on his feet and watching the open window calmly. A second later Reborn entered, an expressionless mask adorning his chubby face.

"Family acquired," Reborn murmured.

Yamamoto and Natsume were conversing quietly, and occasionally peals of laughter sounded throughout the room. Tsuna smiled faintly, both glad and torn apart.

"Yes," Tsuna said softly.

It was an hour later when the nurse finally released them. Just as they were about to leave the room, Yamamoto called Tsuna to stay behind for a moment.

"What is it?" Tsuna asked as Natsume left the room. The blond didn't seem to mind the dismissal, but instead seemed rather happy in obtaining a new friend.

Tsuna really didn't want to have to spend time alone with Yamamoto, because it brought back way too many memories. In truth, he would rather just avoid him altogether, but it no longer seemed possible, not after everything that had happened, but he didn't regret it.

Yamamoto grinned. "Thank you for helping me on the roof today, Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna raised an eyebrow. "Thank Natsu-kun."

"No," Yamamoto said, and Tsuna frowned. "I think you know this already, but it was you who really saved me. He did help, but you were the one who truly stopped me from jumping. You were the one who opened my eyes to the consequences of my actions. You also prevented Natsume and me from falling to death. For that, I thank you. I couldn't owe you more."

This was bad, this was very bad. It was still salvageable, but Reborn would undoubtedly be upset that Tsuna had messed up. Why was it so hard to make things right?

"Don't worry about it," Tsuna was saying.

Yamamoto laughed.

It was the first truly happy laugh that Tsuna had heard him utter, and he felt strangely comfortable at the sound. A smile spread unconsciously across his face as he relaxed. He felt strangely sad that Yamamoto would have to become Natsume's rain, but it really shouldn't be his concern. He already had his pseudo-family, from so many years ago, even if they were now split apart.

"Do me a favor," Tsuna said suddenly, at which Yamamoto nodded. "You don't have to lie any more. But around Natsu-kun…please, keep smiling."

"Sure!" Yamamoto grinned again, before his smile turned teasing. "I have two things to ask you, too."

"What is it?"

"First: I thought you said that you wouldn't try to stop me from dying, and that only Natsu wanted to talk to me."

Tsuna sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Things change. Natsu-kun couldn't convince you, and I couldn't let you die. So…" Tsuna shrugged helplessly.

Yamamoto nodded, as if he expected that answer.

"Second: 'Tsuna-nii?'"

Tsuna blinked, before he recalled that Natsume had called him that…once. Yamamoto's observational skills were not to be underestimated.

"It's a long story," Tsuna replied shortly, which elicited another carefree laugh. "I'll tell you eventually."

An arm swung around him and looped around his shoulders. "I already told Natsu that we'll be going to my place for sushi in celebration of our new friendship. My dad will be pleased to meet you both!"

"...Tsuna."

Yamamoto blinked. "What?"

Tsuna smiled distantly, his chest constricting until it hurt. "I'll go with you if you call me 'Tsuna.'"

Yamamoto didn't miss a beat. "Okay, Tsuna, then let's go!"

Grinning, the two of them exited the infirmary in search of the blond.

* * *

Reborn watched the two's interaction from afar, hidden in a tree. He lowered his Leon-binoculars and frowned grimly.

This was not good, not good at all. He would have to find time to talk with Tsuna before he did something irreparable—and fast.

* * *

There are probably a million better names out there for the child-Tsuna, but I chose it specifically for a reason. Fortunato means lucky, and there is the word 'Tuna' in it. If I had my way, I would have just used 'Fortuna,' but apparently that name is a girl's name. Fortuna also is the name of the Roman goddess of fortune and luck, whether it is good or bad, and is the goddess of fate.

_Yes, Gokudera is very OOC_. Let me clarify first before you tell me that on reviews. The rules of the duel basically says that the loser becomes the winner's subordinate. However, Natsume wasn't the one who beat him; Tsuna interfered, and the battle effectively closed with a draw. Unlike in the canon, Natsume did not try to save Gokudera at all, and thus did not earn his respect. Gokudera ultimately wants to find the identity of the person who saved him. He doesn't have the same loyalty like the canon version, and therefore is not puppy-doggy and kissing Natsume's feet.

_About Natsume: _I've had many comments about Natsume not likely to fight. That's not entirely wrong. One thing that I wanted to point out with Natsume is that the human personality is very contradictory. It's hard to categorize someone with just one or two qualities. People tend to do things that they regret when they get mad, and Natsume is no different. Natsume dislikes violence, but vows revenge. Anger and rage can change a person depending on the strength of their resolve, and it is possible that his words are just empty words: all bark and no bite…or he may change for the worse.

Edited 5/19/2013


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own.

* * *

Like promised, the three teens (Gokudera had promptly refused the offer) went to Takesushi after school. Natsume seemed ecstatic at the offer; then again, he had never had many friends, and going to somebody else's home seemed like a dream to him. Along the walk all Natsume and Yamamoto could talk about were different kinds of sushi and different stories of their families: one was missing a father, the other was missing a mother. To Tsuna's content, they got along well, chatting amicably with one another and dissolving into peals of laughter. So he allowed himself to fall back and scan the surroundings, knowing that Reborn was watching him from the side.

As they walked, Reborn slowed down his pace until they were walking side-by-side in tandem with one another. "Ciaossu," Reborn greeted, keeping his gaze on the two teens ahead, and after looking at the infant for another moment Tsuna turned to look at the laughing duo too.

"What is it?" Tsuna already suspected what this conversation was about; he himself had been contemplating his actions. He knew what he had done was going to hurt both him and Natsume in the long run, but talking to Yamamoto was nostalgic and reminiscent of the only time when he had been truly happy. Even if it hurt, even if past times could never return, talking with Yamamoto made him strangely happy, and he didn't want to stop. "About the guardians, right?" Tsuna asked resignedly.

If Reborn was surprised, he didn't show it.

"I would advise you to stay away from Gokudera-san and Yamamoto-san," Reborn warned. "They are to be Dame-Natsu's guardians, and no one else's. Unfortunately, your interactions with them may interfere with this, and as his tutor I can't allow that to happen. As a guard, it is not necessary for you to approach the guardians and to socialize with them."

Tsuna winced. "Yes, it is the better course of action."

"As long as you understand," Reborn said.

With that uplifting thought, the group of four arrived at Takesushi, and Yamamoto stepped inside first to greet his father and announce the visitors. When Tsuna entered the older man was behind the sushi bar, slitting the fish with expert precision, and he noted that Yamamoto's father's hands were calloused and worn with use. Then the older man looked up, greeting his son with cheer before meeting the glances of the guests, and his face shuttered almost instantly as Tsuna's eyes met his.

"Hello," Tsuna said affably, stepping forward to sit down at the sushi bar. Neither Yamamoto nor Natsume seemed to notice the sudden tension in the air, though Reborn did settle closer to Tsuna than he liked, but such an action was befitting of the number one assassin in the world. Bowing his head in a stiff greeting, Yamamoto's father introduced himself as Tsuyoshi before plastering a grin across his face and talking to his son about the baseball that he couldn't play.

And now Yamamoto noticed that his father was acting strangely, judging from the way his eyebrows knit quizzically together, but he didn't say anything. Leaning forward in his seat, Tsuna asked in the most casual of voices, "Yamamoto-san, do you practice kendo?"

The baseball player looked at him with a bemused smile, not noticing the way Tsuyoshi's hands tightened around the knife behind the counter. "I don't, but we have a dojo. Do you want to see it?"

"No, it's fine, but you should learn. Kendo, that is."

Hearing enough, Tsuyoshi nearly dropped a platter of sushi in front of the brunet. "Here you go," he said with a strained grin, and Tsuna smiled and nodded in thanks as he prepared to eat. He had heard that Takesushi's—well, sushi—were legendary, and he couldn't wait to try it out.

But throughout the meal he could feel the wary looks sent in their general direction, undoubtedly aimed at both him and Reborn. By the time ten minutes had passed he was annoyed at the constant supervision, and he excused himself claiming that he needed to use the restroom. Seizing the opportunity immediately, Tsuyoshi graciously volunteered to show him where the restroom was, and with a nod of thanks the brunet followed.

"What is it that you want to talk to me about?" he asked as they padded their way around the building.

Tsuyoshi looked back cautiously. "You're a Mafioso," he said, and it wasn't a question. With a soft sigh Tsuna nodded his head in reply, and the older man asked, "What do you want my son for?"

"Yamamoto-san is my friend," Tsuna answered. "I do not want him involved in anything, but I understand that my being here already puts him at risk. If you wish me to, I could always leave your son alone." Which was a lie, of course, because Reborn would require Tsuna to watch over Yamamoto, but that didn't necessarily mean that Tsuna had to talk to him, and as long as Tsuyoshi believed it then everything was fine.

To his surprise, Tsuyoshi shook his head. "Who Takeshi befriends is not my business, but I would appreciate it if you don't get him caught in _that_ world. Just keep him safe."

Tsuna smiled back gently; feeling the slightest spark of envy, he wondered what would have happened if he had such a kind, loving father.

* * *

After the talk with Reborn, Tsuna decided to himself to stay away from the future guardians, Reborn's words lingering in the forefront of his mind.

The next day passed with dread. Gokudera and Yamamoto waited outside the Sawada residence the following morning, and the latter greeted both him and Natsume cheerfully. Tsuna raised an eyebrow at Gokudera's arrival; apparently the bomber had decided that protecting the Decimo would be easier if he was always within sight. He found the loyalty rather strange, though, because Gokudera had said it himself: he owed nothing to Natsume, nothing at all, yet here he was, still acting like a bodyguard for the blond. Though Gokudera probably had his own reasons, Tsuna mused, personal reasons for being involved.

The walk had been silent, punctuated by some occasional remarks. Yamamoto dropped some hints on trying to start a conversation, which Tsuna blatantly ignored under Reborn's pointed look. Gokudera was lagging behind, keeping to himself, and Natsume seemed to have no idea what to say about the awkward company. Once in a while he would laugh half-heartedly at the baseball-player's silliness, but the laugh would die out almost immediately.

After a while the group just stopped talking and just walked in silence.

When they finally arrived at school, Tsuna halted when he saw Hibari waiting for him. The teen was glaring menacingly at everybody who passed by. As soon as their gazes connected, Hibari focused his icy glower on him.

Tsuna had tried to avoid the disciplinary committee member yesterday, although his antics on the roof had called attention to himself. He wasn't sure why Hibari was stalking him so ferociously, but he was certain that the prefect wanted a fight. At least, that was the most logical reason if he compared Hibari to the younger Alaude; Alaude had been quite bloodthirsty in his younger years, if he recalled correctly.

"Why is Hibari-san staring at you?" Natsume whispered nervously. Gokudera was returning the glare, while Yamamoto was watching them with a light smile.

Tsuna dipped his head into a small bow. "Gotta go!" Without a word he took off, not checking if Hibari was following him or not, but he knew that he shouldn't fight the prefect. Even after all the years that had passed, he had never enjoyed fighting or killing. While he acknowledged that it was sometimes necessary, unnecessary violence was something that he'd rather avoid.

Yamamoto shouted something along the lines of 'good luck,' which earned a sarcastic wave of Tsuna's arm. Tsuna slipped his hands into his pockets, turned the corner, and disappeared from sight, the prefect hot on his tail.

Twenty minutes later Tsuna finally managed to slip back into his classroom. Hibari had stalked him all over the campus, not letting Tsuna get any rest. It didn't help either that Hibari knew the layout of the campus inside-out. Every once in a while Tsuna had found himself cornered, which forced him to use his wits and ingenuity to escape, which he had to admit was rather entertaining. More entertaining than sitting in the classroom counting the number of tiles on the ceiling, at least.

Natsume was staring at him curiously when he entered the class, and Tsuna returned the gaze with a shrug. Gokudera was avoiding his gaze, while Yamamoto was deliberately trying to make eye-contact. Tsuna ignored both and sank into his seat.

Class was a bore. The teachers' droning voices could lull anybody to sleep, and Tsuna already knew all the material being taught. The only interesting event begun after Nezu-sensei handed back a test. After many 'hypothetical' statistics, the teacher finally returned the papers back. Natsume's score had improved by twenty points, which was a start, but even so, his score was been an abysmal F.

Of course, the class still deemed it worthy of a loud jeering. Looking back at it, Tsuna could say that the outburst had been caused by the fact that Yamamoto had scored lower than him and was not teased. Either way, Natsume called Nezu an old fart, which promptly earned him a detention.

Just then, Osamu subtly threw an eraser at the enraged Natsume, which landed neatly on the back of his head. Natsume, face drawn with fury, looked like he was ready to hit something; his fingers were twitching quite visibly. But before the blond could do anything rash, Gokudera walked over to the ruffian and lifted him up by the collar.

"Unless you want to live another day," Gokudera threatened coldly, "don't touch the Decimo again."

Osamu gulped, looking behind him desperately. The glares Gokudera was sending were very threatening, and he obviously did not enjoy being on the receiving end of them. His fellow bullies were all watching silently, not offering one bit of help in the face of this new problem, and no doubt Osamu would chew them out later for not interfering and saving his ass.

Satisfied, Gokudera set the teen down, leaving the white-faced Osamu to stare hatefully at the delinquent's head.

A loud clearing of the throat called all attention back to the teacher. Tsuna decided that Nezu looked quite funny, with his face almost tomato-red with rage, and it was still changing colors until it was a dark purple, which was a new thing.

"Sawada! Gokudera! You are expelled!"

In the end, Tsuna was dragged into the office too. Apparently, he was there because he was family to one of the ones being accused of manhandling the teacher. Nezu seemed to believe that Natsume had told Gokudera to attack Osamu, which Tsuna knew was completely inaccurate. Then again, Nezu was an idiot, and there was no cure for idiocy, at least none that he knew of.

Class had been dismissed for the day, leaving the rest of the students with nothing to do. The teacher himself was up in the principal's office, ranting to the principal about Gokudera's actions, and Tsuna found it hilarious that Nezu found it more important to shame a few teenagers instead of educating a class.

"Sawada Natsume and Gokudera Hayato should be expelled with joint responsibility!" Nezu concluded with a flourish. He paused for a breath, sweat beading on his brows; apparently getting angry at the two teens had been very taxing.

Thankfully the principal was not as much of an idiot, and he decided that the punishment was too harsh and that the two should be placed on probation instead. With a wicked smirk on his face, Nezu suggested that they go dig up a time capsule, or to be expelled immediately.

Tsuna just rolled his eyes. The entire thing was completely stupid. He didn't see how finding a time capsule was relevant to the potential futures that would be destroyed through expulsion. Finding the time capsule was just so random that there had to be something off with the request.

Natsume was in a very foul mood after the demand. While Natsume seemed to hate school, he didn't seem to be up to the idea of expulsion either. Gokudera seemed to catch onto his mood, and suggested that they blow up the entire school in search of the blasted time capsule.

"That's rather counterproductive," Tsuna pointed out. "What if you end up blowing apart the capsule too?"

Grumbling, the two teens went to work.

In the end, the time capsule didn't exist in the first place. Tsuna had overheard Nezu's unsightly conversation with another staff member as they laughed at Natsume's misfortune, and suddenly he was annoyed, very annoyed. Stalking away, he headed down the stairs and out onto the open campus, his intuition saying that there was something that he could do to rid the school of the old fart.

A minor explosion was all it took to split apart the playground. Just as the apoplectic Nezu was about to expel him for destroying school property, Tsuna held up a box of failed tests for the world to see. Apparently Nezu had lied when he said that he had come from an elite school, and as such, was fired from the job.

* * *

Natsume was correcting his homework when the Bovino child decided to show up. Despite the mishap at school, he did seem happier at his improving test scores. For once, the blond had approached Reborn to help him correct his homework and to teach him what he had been doing wrong.

While in the midst of the lesson, the cow-child walked climbed up a tree and attempted to fire a gun. Tsuna wasn't sure what the Bovino was aiming at; even if it was aimed correctly, the gun wasn't loaded. When the child tried to reload the gun, he tripped and fell off the tree, landing on the ground with a dull thud.

Natsume looked up at the sound. "What was that?"

"Nothing," Tsuna said dismissively, standing up from his bed. "I'm going to get something to eat."

The moment he reached the bottom of the stairs, somebody began assaulting the doorbell relentlessly. The ringing sound echoed throughout the house, and Nana ran from the kitchen, eyes terrified.

Her eyes fixed on him with a desperate need for reassurance, mouth opening and closing at the sight of him. "Sorry Nana-san," Tsuna said politely, "but my warning from ten years ago has been set into motion. Could you let the boy in?"

Nana closed her eyes briefly, bracing herself. "…Alright. Give me a moment." Her voice was trembling and weak, and as Tsuna watched she seemed to fold in on herself, but when she opened her eyes again, they were scared but determined. Without another word, she headed for the door, steeling her shoulders with a kind of strength that he never knew that she possessed.

Tsuna fingered his jacket, listening as the door opened. Nana's cheerful voice met his ears. "Yes?" the woman's voice called into empty air, before taking on a note of confusion. "Hm…that's strange." The door shut with a click.

Her face was tense and pale when she returned from the front door.

"You did well," Tsuna said softly, and she nodded unhappily.

Another door banged open from upstairs, and Tsuna could hear the childish shriek of laughter. "Gyahaha, successful infiltration!" the child was shouting, loud enough to wake the entire neighborhood in the dead of night. Tsuna sighed, he wasn't sure how the Bovino was still alive.

"I'll go make sure that nobody kills themselves or each other," Tsuna said, standing up reluctantly. "Expect to make an extra share of dinner, though."

Because he could hear the child's piercing voice from downstairs, he wasn't surprised to see the child sitting on the ground wailing when he entered the bedroom. Natsume was sneaking side-long glances at the child, who was attempting to smile confidently through the snot and tears.

"I, the great Lambo-san, a hitman from the Bovino family, just tripped! I, who met Reborn at a bar, just tripped!"

Tsuna walked into the room slowly, raising a questioning eyebrow at Reborn, but the assassin didn't spare him a glance as he continued to explain the problem for his student.

"Using this formula, solve this," Reborn ordered.

Natsume obeyed, taking the paper from the arcobaleno. He seemed unsure of what to do as he scribbled his answer on the paper. "Um…Reborn?"

Reborn looked up. "Are you confused about the homework?"

Natsume hesitated. "…never mind."

Getting Reborn's unspoken message, Tsuna walked past Lambo, grabbing his backpack off the floor and dropping it onto the bed. Though the backpack hadn't been more than a foot away from the snotty child, Tsuna pointedly ignored him and avoided eye-contact.

As time passed, he had to agree that the child was rather annoying. Lambo seemed to try everything, from pulling sweets out of his hair to attacking Reborn. Of course, nothing worked; Reborn didn't even look at Lambo as he sent the Bovino flying out the window. Tsuna sighed as the child fell yet again onto the ground with a sickening thud. At least the room was quiet now.

"Um…Reborn?" Natsume asked again as a grenade exploded outside. He looked worriedly out of the window. "Why are you ignoring the co—er, Lambo?"

"I don't associate with those a rank lower," Reborn answered coolly.

Nana chose that moment to barge into the room, her hands on her hips. Apparently she had heard the grenade explode.

"Tsu-kun!" she said indignantly, "I thought you said that you'd be here to prevent any deaths!"

"He's not dead," Tsuna commented offhandedly. "In fact, he should be outside of the door again now. Could you get him?"

As if to prove his words correct, the doorbell rang again. Nana shot a disapproving look at him before turning around and exiting the room. The bang of the door only emphasized her discontent; Tsuna rubbed his forehead with a sigh.

As soon as the door shut, Reborn turned his eyes onto Tsuna, mouth pulled into a silly mock-pout but his eyes were questioning. Tsuna could almost hear the unspoken request.

"You could just tell her to leave him outside," Reborn said.

Tsuna rolled his eyes. "What help _that_ would do. Natsu-kun, go downstairs. Nana-san wants to talk to you."

"She does?" Natsume asked.

Tsuna sighed. "Just go."

Natsume muttered a quick apology to Reborn before standing up and heading for the door. He cast a quick look behind him just as the door was about to close, as if he were worried about the two. The door clicked shut, and moments later Tsuna could hear the tell-tale sound of feet descending the stairs.

Reborn regarded him silently, eyes dark and brooding. The hitman had his arms crossed across his small chest, the yellow pacifier half-hidden from view. Tsuna's own was slipped into his pockets, out of sight.

"You knew that the Bovino would arrive today, didn't you?"

Tsuna raised an eyebrow at the question, careful to keep his emotions in check and out of sight.

"What are you talking about?" he replied innocently.

Reborn's voice was flat. "It seems strange, how you knew that Dame-Natsu is the Decimo. How you knew that I would be coming. While the Vongola may be the most famous mafia family in the world, it is also the strongest and has the highest security. There is information you shouldn't know, that you undoubtedly do."

Tsuna nearly snorted at his words. For the family with the highest security, it certainly did not take enough precautions to secure the Sawada family's wellbeing.

Letting his amusement stretch across his face, he smirked. "What is so strange about it?" he asked softly. "The fact that you can't figure it out?"

"So you do know things," Reborn said darkly.

Tsuna shrugged, "I believe we've established that."

"How?"

Tsuna smiled. "If you are worried about the Vongola's security, you don't have to worry. I have always considered myself well-versed in hacking, which seems to be your main concern. After all, I've had plenty of time to learn and practice…wouldn't you think?"

Reborn didn't answer immediately, but when he did, his voice was low. "So you did hack into our data," he accused quietly.

Tsuna grinned. "Maybe."

Reborn nodded, as if that was all the confirmation he needed.

The front door slammed shut, and Tsuna moved toward the window so he could see what was going on. Natsume was reluctantly carrying a snotty-nosed Lambo, as if taking the child out for a walk.

Tsuna wondered if Lambo was supposed to have any similarities to Lampo. While he had never seen how Lampo looked like as a child, he sincerely hoped that Lampo hadn't looked like the five-year old Bovino. Tsuna somehow could not match the two appearances up; the difference in appearance was just too large, and his imagination wasn't working. Mentally pasting the fifteen-year old face of Lampo onto Lambo's body wasn't helping.

"Are you going to follow him?" Reborn asked from behind him.

Tsuna didn't turn around as he opened the window. "No," he said curtly. "He'll be fine. I'm still going out for a walk though."

"For what?"

"Scouting."

Without another word he jumped out, landing on the ground with his knees bent to absorb the shock. Reborn was still watching him, of course he was still watching him, given everything that had happened in the last couple of days. As the days continued to pass, the wariness only seemed to increase, and by now Reborn always seemed to be watching him.

True to his word, Tsuna turned in the opposite direction from where Natsume had headed. Instead of heading to the river, Tsuna strode deeper into the city, soon losing himself to the maze of tall buildings. He was in a more remote part of Namimori, a place where crime had a higher chance of being overlooked by the obsessive prefect because it was so different, so uncivilized in comparison.

He scaled a building, climbing up a fire escape with a quick, practiced grace. His soft treads made no sound as he travelled higher and higher up the building. When he reached the roof, he looked over the edge and frowned.

According his recent observations, the local yakuza group was beginning to act up. The group was called 'Momokyokai,' and was known throughout Namimori for controlling the local area. He hadn't found it necessary to exterminate the recent gang-turned-mafia yet, but the group's recent activities had been troubling.

Of course, they weren't exactly a major threat. Tsuna highly doubted that they could inflict much damage on the Vongola, or anybody who was connected to the more experienced members of the mafia for that matter. The last time he had checked, the Momokyokai had not been very strong and had no supplies anyway, and overall it wasn't a danger for now.

Tsuna eyed the sign on the building warily. Within the last week, there had been a strange series of missing people. The targets had all been unimportant individuals—a child here, a teenager there—but it was enough of an occurrence to tip him off. Tsuna was aware that Reborn recognized the issue, but neither of them had actively done anything about it.

According to rumors, the Momokyokai were all skilled martial artists. Which made sense: after all, what weak individual would actively join the mafia without knowing skills of basic protection? Even so, Tsuna doubted that they could land a hit on him.

All in all, not a threat.

Tsuna eyed the building for another long minute, before spinning on his heels and walking away.

They were unlikely to cause any trouble, after all.

* * *

Tsuna returned home to the annoyingly shrill shrieking of a certain child assassin. Apparently Lambo was screaming incoherently again, no doubt from being attacked by Reborn again. Rubbing his temple, he let out a loud sigh, relaxing his posture slightly so that the household could hear him approach.

Then, without warning, there was a large explosion.

Pink smoke filled the dining room when he entered. Reborn was chewing unconcernedly, which most likely meant that Lambo was still alright and the situation was more or less under control. Nana looked flabbergasted as she stared at the mass of pink clouds; Natsume was gaping openly.

Tsuna focused his gaze on the pink smoke. He could determine a shadow shifting minutely from within the haze, and from what he could see the form was much larger than a five-year old's body. Tsuna raised his eyebrow, his mind racing through all the different scenarios before his mind fixed on one.

"The ten-year bazooka," he murmured softly.

The smoke dissipated just as quickly as it had appeared, revealing a lanky teenager in front of him. Tsuna nearly gaped in response as he took in another carbon copy of his first-generation acquaintance. Lambo had really matured from a snotty brat to a decent teenager, taking on Lampo's build, height, and all. For a moment his mind flickered to what Lampo would have looked like as a child, and he nearly snorted at the mental image.

Lambo was looking at him with those familiar detached gaze, one eye shut in a perfect mimicry of his counterpart. His gaze wandered across the dining room, as in drinking in the sight hungrily, before they fell and locked on the two teens. "Long time no see, Vongola," the older Lambo said softly.

Natsume frowned uncertainly, and Tsuna felt a strange trill of foreboding.

Reborn was watching the scene quietly from the side, and from the hitman's expression Tsuna could tell that he had recognized it too: something was distinctly off. There was warmth and respect in that tone, yes—but the level of distance and sadness seemed to say something else.

Tsuna's eyes narrowed. He had recognized the look in Lambo's gaze when their eyes first connected. It had not just been detachment, but also betrayal. Something had happened, something bad. Tsuna wasn't sure what had caused such a pained look, but he had a sneaking suspicion that Lambo _knew_.

Tsuna walked over to the Bovino, noting the difference in their height. Ten years could really do a lot to change the appearance of some—but for others, ten years would not change a thing.

"You look just like Lampo," Tsuna said indifferently.

Lambo stiffened, and Tsuna felt himself wanting to punch the wall. That singular reaction confirmed it—he knew. Whether Tsuna had told him or not, Lambo knew exactly what the circumstances were in his past, and undoubtedly in his future. Which was strange, Tsuna thought; he saw no reason for him to confide in the Vongola about his personal problems.

"You've said that before," Lambo said tensely. "In the future."

He replied with a genial smile. "I see."

Natsume chose that instant to interrupt. "Um…Tsuna-nii? Who is he?"

Tsuna shot him an amused grin, strangely glad that the confrontation had been delayed even by a minute. Then again, a minute was a lot, given the bazooka's time restrictions. "He, over there, is none other than Lambo. A person shot with the bazooka—the ten year bazooka—will swap places with their self from ten years in the future for five minutes."

"That's impossible!" Natsume exclaimed, before he could catch himself.

"Nothing is impossible," Tsuna shrugged.

Lambo twitched at his words and looked down uncomfortably.

"…Why?"

Tsuna stared coolly back at the teen. "Excuse me?"

Lambo flinched from the cold edge in his eyes, but gritted his teeth and continued. In a halting voice he said, "Why didn't you tell us before it was too late?"

Tsuna became very obscenely aware of Reborn's stilled movements. Lambo's an idiot, Tsuna thought irritably, for blurting out exactly what he did not want Lambo to say. Especially after his secretive actions in the future that Tsuna was certain had happened. Tsuna crossed his arms over his chest, allowing all of the warmth to drain from his face. Natsume flinched from the sudden shift of atmosphere, looking at the other occupants of the room in a confused terror.

"Why didn't I tell you," Tsuna said flatly.

The simple sentence gave him so many implications of the future. Whatever had happened, Tsuna had not revealed his secret to the guardians until it was too late. For it to be 'too late,' he must have died. Tsuna wasn't sure if he died fulfilling his goal or not, but was almost completely certain that he hadn't.

In order for the rest of the Vongola to become aware of his circumstances, someone must have told them. He knew himself well enough to know that he hadn't confided with them in the future, and Lambo's questions eradicated all doubt of that from his mind. The only other people who knew about his situation was the Vindice. That, above all else, confirmed his suspicion that he had died unsatisfied.

Tsuna shifted again, keeping his gaze clear and cold. "Isn't it obvious? I don't need your ideals or sentiment getting in my way."

"But—"

"You would have tried to stop me, wouldn't you?"

Lambo bowed his head. "Yes."

"Then, who told you?"

The teen before him stiffened yet again, and Tsuna frowned at the reaction. He had seen the resentment in the other boy before Lambo had wiped it clean from his face. Someone that he detested, Tsuna concluded, committing that piece of information to his memory.

But Lambo didn't tell him. Silence echoed through the room for a couple moments, in which he became increasingly aware that not only Natsume was staring curiously, but Nana too. He groaned mentally; he really did not want to deal with their questions. It was his problem, and his problem alone—no one else had to deal with it.

Suddenly, Lambo spoke. "We trusted you, you know? You could have told us anything."

Tsuna didn't respond.

"Your secrets changed everything, Tsuna-nii…it changed everything."

With that ominous note, Lambo disappeared in a flash of pink smoke, and all was still.

* * *

To say that Reborn was frustrated was an extreme understatement.

Tsuna had left the moment Lambo had switched back. It had been a very smart decision, considering how much Reborn felt like throttling the teen. There was too much to be said regarding Lambo's cryptic words, and there just wasn't enough information.

It was disturbing to know that something had gone so badly wrong in the future. Something had undoubtedly happened, and the result hadn't been pleasant. Reborn had assumed that the older Lambo would be only slightly more mature than the cow-brat he had to deal with now.

However…

The older Lambo had been much more mature than expected. He had held a conversation, despite being obviously upset, and didn't bawl once. Still, his emotions had been written clearly across his face, and Reborn was very irritated by what he had seen.

Anger. Grief. Happiness. Pain. All of the emotions had flickered through the Bovino's eyes within the span of a second.

Whatever Tsuna's secret was, it was big.

Big enough, at least, to impact the entire Vongola. Big enough to shake the future guardians to the core.

However, Reborn didn't know it.

He ground his teeth in frustration. He was tempted to try to find Tsuna, but the teen had pulled a very successful disappearing act. He wanted to run up to the brunet and to shoot him until he got all the answers. It wasn't helping his mood that he knew that Tsuna could easily dodge the attempts and retaliate in kind, which was likely to make him even more frustrated in the process, but for now he could only mentally disembowel the teen and it wasn't satisfying enough.

Without the general knowledge of what Tsuna was hiding, the conversation between the two teens did not make any sense. The binding rules of time had ensured that Lambo wasn't able to say anything that would change the future. Because of this, Lambo had stuck to simple, interpretable questions, questions that could be taken in many different ways. Tsuna obviously had understood what had happened in the future, and had known immediately what Lambo had been talking about.

And of course, being Tsuna, he had stuck to simple direct answers as well.

The older Lambo's words had more impact than Tsuna seemed to have realized. It was perhaps because of Lambo that Tsuna hadn't been shot at the moment Reborn had sensed something was wrong.

It was clear—painfully clear—that Lambo had cared for Tsuna in the future. The look of hurt and betrayal was caused by Tsuna's lack of communication, nothing else. If Tsuna had hurt the guardians simply by hiding secrets, then the guardians must have cared about him to a lot, which most likely meant that Tsuna played a huge role in their mafia lives.

He paced the room, his small form stiff and drawn. Leon had morphed into a gun, responding to his thoughts, and Reborn was desperately trying to avoid the urge of blasting something's head off.

When Reborn received the call from Iemitsu on the night of the incident with Gokudera, he hadn't known what he had been expecting. Perhaps an assassin, or an information broker, that was descended from Primo's line. He definitely hadn't anticipated that Tsuna was Giotto's brother. Even after he had gotten the news, he had demanded the CEDEF to search again—because the information just _had_ to be wrong…right? But the similarities were all there, and after Tsuna confirmed the fact it was impossible to refute the information.

Reborn had not simply been content with learning that Tsuna was Giotto's brother. Of course not—what kind of hitman would he be? A trained killer like him took no chances, and he had found himself ordering the CEDEF to pry deeper into the 'Sawada Tsunayoshi' mentioned in the documents.

When he was certain that Tsuna had fallen asleep after befriending Yamamoto, he had called the CEDEF and asked how they were faring. They had shared some interesting bits of information: for example, the registered brother of Giotto in Italy had been a boy named 'Fortunato,' who had died at age thirteen. There had been no other notable records.

It was decades after the death of Fortunato that the boy named 'Sawada Tsunayoshi' had decided to register as Ieyasu's brother.

Reborn wasn't sure what had happened between this time gap, but he felt certain that 'Fortunato' had not been sitting around idly. If Fortunato and Tsunayoshi were the same person, then something must have happened when Fortunato 'died.' Something that forced Fortunato to go into hiding in Italy, that still allowed him to resurface in Japan as a completely different person.

If his intuition was correct, then the special 'something that happened' was directly related to how Tsuna was still alive. Somehow, the very thing that caused Fortunato to 'die' prevented Tsuna from perishing from the world.

But what?

Reborn rubbed his temple tiredly, silently ordering Leon to transform into a cell-phone. He mentally slapped himself in the head. Tsuna was not his main concern; Natsume was. Things were going to pick up soon, and he wanted to get Natsume acquainted to as many Mafiosi as possible within a short period of time. He could think about Tsuna on another time.

He stared at the list of contacts, browsing through the long list of previous clients and partners. His fingers stopped as he found the name he was looking for.

With a quick jab of his tiny hand, Reborn dialed and waited.

The receiver picked up immediately.

"Ciaossu."

"Reborn!" came the familiar voice. "What do you need?"

"I want you to come to Namimori, Japan."

The other person sighed. "I'm already on the way there. I'll be there by tomorrow morning. After all, Reborn, you won't be free until the Tenth dies."

Reborn frowned into the phone: Tsuna, Tsuna was here too, and he had known from the very beginning that aggravating the teen could result in devastating consequences. "No, Dame-Natsu's not to be killed. Whether you like it or not, I have a job in tutoring him, and with the current situation I don't feel comfortable having you try to kill assassinate him."

"You don't trust me?"

Reborn shook his head. "It's not a matter of trust in this case. I'll explain the situation to you when you get here. But remember, Bianchi—hands off."

Bianchi grumbled. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Ciao."

* * *

**Vongola Headquarters, Italy**

The blond's steady footsteps echoed through the empty corridor, the tap-tap of his shoes loud and infuraitingly clear.

Iemitsu stormed down the building, his body drawn with tension. It had been a busy week, even by normal standards, and Reborn's calls were not helping. Unfortunately, he hadn't had time to go talk with the Ninth; he had been cooped up in the CEDEF headquarters researching something or another regarding the Vongola's affairs.

After a series of long, frustrating days, he finally had enough time to find his boss.

Iemitsu arrived in front of the door, where he knew that Nono currently was. Nono was typically in his office sorting out paperwork in the afternoon, after all. After knocking sharply on the door to announce his presence, he pulled it open and walked in.

The old leader looked up at him with unsurprised eyes. He set his pen down gently, his kind smile never leaving his face.

"Is there something wrong?" Nono asked, eyeing Iemitu's stiff stance.

"That brat is what's wrong," Iemitsu ground out. "The brat—Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Nono sat up straighter. "Tell me."

And so Iemitsu did.

He explained about Reborn's encounter with the strange teen, about what he had found in the records, and about his worries. He explained his fear that Tsunayoshi might have done something to his wife and son, and that there was no way an amateur could have made it past the Vongola's information network.

"I need to go home," Iemitsu concluded tensely. "I need to make sure nothing bad has happened. Whatever that boy claims, he cannot be the brother of Primo. He's an imposter at best."

Nono remained silent throughout the explanation, but now he straightened his back and looked at his advisor in the eye.

"I am sure that Sawada Natsume and Sawada Nana are in good hands," Nono replied calmly. "Reborn has yet to say anything harmful regarding Tsunayoshi-san, so the household should be secure. If Tsunayoshi-san really is a threat to Natsume-san, then Reborn would have eliminated him already and reported back."

Iemitsu said nothing.

"I am glad to hear that Tsunayoshi-san is still as young and strong as ever," Nono mused. "I knew him when I was training to become Vongola Nono, and he was a very polite and caring child. Tsunayoshi-san is not a threat to your wife or son."

Iemitsu frowned. "If he's still a teenager, then that makes his background even more suspicious."

"While that is true, he has made it clear he did not want to divulge the information," Nono said. "Not everybody's childhood is a happy tale, and it is within his right to withhold personal history. That being said, I will allow you to return home for a few days to check up on the household. You may leave in a week. However, if Tsunayoshi-san does not want to talk about his past, do not press him."

"Understood," Iemitsu answered.

He would begin packing immediately.

* * *

Edited 2/17/2013


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own.

* * *

After two half-hearted assassination attempts on Natsume's life, the Poison Scorpion decided to settle down in the Sawada residence.

The first attempt happened when Tsuna and Natsume were getting ready for school. Natsume had been grumbling about the hot weather when she walked by, handing him a can of soda in the process. Naturally, both boys had been suspicious, and Natsume had promptly dropped off the can of soda into the nearest trash can without opening it. Gokudera had arrived shortly afterwards, followed by a cheerful Yamamoto, and together the four boys went to school.

The second attempt happened after school ended. She had waltzed straight up to the door and tried to deliver what she called 'pizza'—or at least a nasty variation of it. The attempt, again, hadn't been very subtle; the gas mask was enough of a warning. Tsuna was considering whether he should knock her out to save him some trouble later on when Reborn greeted her with a disapproving look on his face.

After being lectured for not heeding his warning, the Poison Scorpion declared that she would be living inside the home with Reborn. Nana hadn't been very happy at this declaration, but had enough sense to oblige, however reluctantly. Natsume seemed annoyed that another assassin had decided to take residence in his home, which was growing increasingly crowded by the day, who could potentially become his murderer the following morning.

The Poison Scorpion—no, Bianchi—then volunteered to cook dinner in the kitchen while Tsuna and Natsume worked on homework. Nana, not seeing the eerie purple smoke from the 'pizza' from earlier, did not know of the dangers that came with Bianchi and cooking. Looking back, Tsuna should have warned her—but then again, it was interesting to hear Nana wonder just how the hell Bianchi managed to make everything she cooked purple and life-threatening.

A several hours later, the toxic waste littered the once clean sink.

While eating their very delayed dinner, Nana explicitly forbade Bianchi from ever trying to cook food again. Tsuna grinned at her annoyed and desperate tone. Bianchi seemed insulted, but after a not-so-subtle warning from Tsuna that she could be ejected from the home any time, she agreed.

Tsuna noted, during their brief conversation about various types of poisons after dinner, that Bianchi seemed very wary of him. She had tried to disguise it, but the stiffness of her voice and the caution in her actions told him that she was aware of his strength.

"So, Reborn-san talked to you about me?" he said, throwing the subject directly into her face.

Bianchi shifted into a stance that would allow her to move quickly in a moment's notice. "He did."

Tsuna smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, I don't intend to harm you. But if you try to kill Natsu-kun again, no matter how well it goes…then, that's a different story."

Suffice to say, the rest of their night was spent in a tense silence.

Tsuna was grateful for the peace and silence, though. Reborn had chosen to take Natsume to god-knows-where for 'training,' leaving the house to Tsuna, Bianchi, Nana, and Lambo. Lambo was quickly silenced with the promise of grape-flavored candy, and Bianchi was content with leaving him alone. So, Tsuna was comfortable just resting on the bed, leaving himself with his own thoughts.

He was annoyed that the days continued to pass annoyingly quickly. Every new day seemed to bring a new face, whether he recognized them or not. And with every new person that came, he began to question what exactly he should do next.

Ever since Giotto's death, Tsuna had promised to himself to never get involved. He was perfectly fine with sitting back and guiding the future Vongola bosses from afar, pointing the developing bosses in the right direction for success. He was fine with meeting new people, talking with them, and watching them die as he lived on. It was just a part of his life, one that he had long since gotten used to ever since his life changed four hundred years ago.

However, he was _not _fine with letting himself get emotionally involved. He had always said to himself that he would never allow his emotions to get ahead of him, and would never allow himself to even consider the idea of becoming friends with others. Friends only brought pain—pain, and nothing else. They would inevitably die, leaving him alone once more in the ever-changing world.

With the arrival of Gokudera and Yamamoto, he felt his morals shifting. No matter what he would like himself to believe, he knew that he was already deeply emotionally involved. Tsuna cursed the fact that the two teens just _had _to look like his long-dead friends, and cursed the fact that they just _had_ to act the same. Everything he had wanted from this 'help-Vongola-Decimo' plan was slowly crumbling away, and there was nothing that he could to do stop it.

Before, it had been fairly easy to distance himself from the other bosses. All of the others that he had aided either viewed him as aloof or hard to talk too; they had all been either teens or early adults. Most had been wary of him, which was only natural: after all, seemingly immortal teenagers weren't exactly common. The distrust and distance was enough to keep Tsuna from feeling much pain at their eventual deaths, ones that he knew were going to happen.

With Natsume, however, he had to intervene before Natsume had even reached the age of five. Tsuna had known that he had to treat Natsume with love and care if he wanted to prod him in the right direction. By doing so, he had created a bond that Natsume seemed to love and treasure—the bond of having a kind older brother.

At times, Tsuna regretted stepping into Natsume's life in that role. While Tsuna _had_ saved Natsume's family from certain death, he hated having to present himself as the older brother. He disliked having to act so caring at times, because no matter how much time had passed, he didn't like hiding his own emotions and lie so blatantly. Honestly, he couldn't have cared less.

He had hated it, and yet he couldn't bring himself to leave. Natsume's innocent smile had been rewarding after a long day of fake words and lies. It reminded him too much of himself—himself, that is, before he had known just what the outside world had been like.

But now…now, Natsume had Reborn guiding him, right? With Reborn around, Natsume could survive and become a boss without his presence…

Choosing to leave would set off a sequence of events he would surely not enjoy. Natsume would be upset, and would likely try to hunt him down after taking over the Vongola. Reborn would use his influence to try to tap into every information network to discover more about him. Nana would be understandably distraught.

No—he couldn't leave.

A certain part of him felt slightly guilty for making excuses. Tsuna squashed down the emotion before he let himself think too much about it.

* * *

Natsume was terrified.

Any teenage boy was likely to be terrified if he was forced to stand on a rock surrounded by mines. The reasoning didn't help to calm him down at all; in fact, it made him even more scared. One wrong step and boom, he was off to heaven.

He couldn't believe all of this originated from his request to try to correct his occasional bouts of clumsiness. Yes, Reborn had smirked and said that he would turn it into a game, and from the glint in his eyes had promised pain. Surely, though, Reborn didn't have to take it into the extremes.

The rock was far from stable, too; it was one of those teetering stones that rocked back and forth with every shift of his weight. His fidgeting movements had been enough to knock his sense of balance away.

After rigging all of the mines, Reborn had casually hopped away. The tutor had said something about having to have a talk with someone, but Natsume wasn't too sure exactly what the baby had been talking about. Unfortunately, the talk had required Reborn leave him behind—stranded in the middle of a minefield.

He definitely regretted his decision.

"Finally!" he cheered when Reborn strode back into view with his trademark greeting. Natsume had decided that being left unattended in a minefield in a darkening forest was a little worse than being tortured, though not by much. "Can you disable the bombs now?"

"No," Reborn answered sweetly. "Though, I do need to ask you something."

Natsume's brow furrowed. "What would you need to ask _me _about?"

"Nothing academic, so you should be able to answer," Reborn quipped.

Natsume had winced at the jab, but refrained from speaking at the look in his tutor's eyes. Something was telling him that Reborn was going to ask about _that._

"What?" he asked carefully.

Reborn grinned. "What do you know about Tsuna-san?"

Natsume desperately tried not to let anything flash across his face. He knew Reborn well enough to know that any emotion would betray his thoughts. Reborn was, after all, exceptionally perspective.

He settled for playing innocent. "What do you mean?"

"Tsuna-san is not your brother," Reborn elaborated. "Yet, he's been with you nearly all your life. What do you know about him besides that he is not your brother by blood?"

"Tsuna-nii is the only brother I have," Natsume retorted, his mind racing, but he couldn't figure out what Reborn wanted from him.

"What about his real family?"

Natsume frowned genuinely. "He's never told me, and I've never pried. I just assumed that he disliked his family or something, and that he ran away. There were always some things that he never mentioned, and that I assumed that he didn't want to talk about."

Reborn stared at him, making Natsume squirm unpleasantly. He hoped he hadn't said too much.

"Has he always been a teenager?" Reborn asked next.

"Yes," Natsume replied slowly. "It's strange, but I don't know why he doesn't grow. I just assumed that it was normal. But hey," he added defensively as Reborn stared at him dubiously again, "I was a child, and he's always been like that. What else was I supposed to think?"

Reborn sighed. "That's why you are Dame-Natsu."

Natsume began to fold his arms over his chest and retort, but paused midway. "Come to think of it," he mused, "he reminds me of you."

Reborn blinked, and Natsume had the sinking feeling that yes, he had said too much. He clamped his mouth shut, but the damage was already done. Reborn's gun was in his hand.

"What do you mean?" the assassin asked lowly.

Natsume stepped back, temporarily forgetting that he was on the only safe spot in a field of mines. For a terrifying moment he lost his balance, and he struggled to stay standing with the desperate flailing of his arms. Just as he was about to fall, a small hand caught his finger and hauled him up.

Reborn watched him expressionlessly as Natsume breathed hard. He was in shock of the display of strength, and of the cold curiosity glinting on those onyx eyes.

"Explain what you meant," Reborn ordered.

Natsume bowed his head. "All I meant is that you both seem unnaturally mature for your outward appearance. I already know that Tsuna-nii doesn't grow, so that could also apply to you. You're both strong, you remind me of each other, and…"

His voice died away as the memory of Tsuna's words came back to him. "Not a word," Tsuna had said. It was a very near thing too; Natsume had nearly mentioned that both of them had pacifiers.

Reborn's gaze was stormy and thoughtful as he stared aimlessly into space. Natsume could almost see the gears working, and he severely regretted opening his mouth.

He hoped that Tsuna wouldn't be angry at his slip.

* * *

The next morning, Gokudera and Yamamoto greeted the two Sawada's outside of the house as they prepared to walk to school.

Interestingly enough, Gokudera collapsed immediately after seeing Bianchi, who was bidding the two Sawada's good-bye. Gokudera had gotten up, looking quite ill, and run on ahead, desperate to get out of his sister's sight. Yamamoto laughed as usual to Bianchi's explanation of his unfortunate past, while Natsume's lips just twitched in disbelief.

Hibari, like past couple days, was waiting for Tsuna at the front gate. Tsuna, like the past couple days, bid the group a quick good-bye and dashed off onto the campus. The sequence of actions was becoming very monotonous, if he could say so; although each new day he had provided a different route and sometimes unconventional methods of escape, the strangely normal hunt was becoming quite boring.

The chase, as usual, continued for a couple minutes. Hibari would occasionally catch up, but then Tsuna quickly slipped from his grasp. The crash of tonfas against the school building caused Tsuna to wince.

For a guy that was overprotective of the city and school, he seemed to have no qualms about destroying the property himself.

"Hibari-senpai?" Tsuna called sweetly over his shoulder. "If you keep this up, I'll be late to class again."

Hibari glared, taking the chance to swipe viciously at his head.

Tsuna twisted out of range, dancing backwards with a sigh. While escaping wasn't all that hard, having to wake up every morning to a violent version of tag was not fun. He mulled over his options, keeping half of his mind focused on dodging the increasingly ferocious attacks. Hibari was the one approaching him. Surely Reborn couldn't blame him for trying to live his life peacefully.

"If I fight you now, will you stop trying to kill me during school?" Tsuna asked cheerily. "I'd rather not start my morning by being stalked by a bloodthirsty psychopath."

"Herbivore," Hibari snapped, "I'll bite you to death."

Tsuna took that as a yes.

After dropping his backpack by the building, Tsuna moved back until there was a fair amount of distance between him and the prefect, before digging through his hidden stash of weapons. All of the weapons he carried around him usually were long-ranged weapons. His gun and his throwing knives wouldn't do much help against a close-combat fighter.

His attention wavered for a split second, and he almost didn't see the next strike; his intuition jerked his head to the right, just enough for the metal to graze his hair. He looked impassively at the prefect, the beginnings of a grin stretching across his face.

Hibari was strong.

There was a flash of metal, and on instinct Tsuna grabbed a throwing knife and slashed the blade upward. The knife caught the tonfa in midair, inches in front of his face. Tsuna stepped forward for leverage, his hand steady against the sharp blow.

"Wao," Hibari said. For the first time since Tsuna had seen him, Hibari actually looked interested.

It wasn't until Tsuna had felt the force rippling down his arm that he appreciated how powerful Hibari's strikes were. His hand ached slightly from catching the attack, which was a testament to how strong Hibari's blows really were. He hadn't meant someone who could fight so well in many, many years. He felt the beginnings of thrill running through his body, and allowed a dangerous grin to spread across his face.

Hibari applied more pressure against the knife, and Tsuna took advantage of that as he stepped to the side. The prefect swung his other tonfa, but Tsuna had anticipated the move. Tsuna ducked beneath his guard and swiped at the prefect's legs.

Hibari jumped out of range, narrowly avoiding the fall. Tsuna righted himself with a pleasant smirk.

"Not bad," he sang teasingly, his eyes narrowing. "But not good enough."

In an instant Tsuna was beneath his guard, gazing up at the prefect with orange-brown eyes. His hand shot forward like a snake, the knives streaking upwards like a rocket. Before the prefect knew what was happening, the cold metal pressed softly against his neck.

Hibari froze, recognizing the imminent danger if he moved. Icy eyes glared down furiously at Tsuna.

"I win this round," Tsuna whispered serenely, before pulling away. "Don't feel too badly," Tsuna remarked offhandedly, slipping his weapon back into his uniform and turning away. "You are strong, no doubt about it. Compared to you, I've just had many more years of experience. I'll see you around campus then, Hibari-senpai."

"Wait."

Tsuna tilted his head back, his expression unreadable.

"Every morning before school in the gym. Come, or else I will come to you. Be there, omnivore."

With that final note, the prefect turned and walked stiffly away.

Tsuna blinked, processing the fact that Hibari had displayed a strange token of respect. He rubbed his hand through his untamable hair and sighed. Things had just gotten more complicated, and he was really not looking forward to doing more unnecessary violence. He'd really just rather skip it.

* * *

Reborn was waiting for Tsuna within the school. After Natsume had entered the building, the hitman had disappeared into one of his many secret passageways through the school. A few minutes later he had found himself observing Tsuna's fight from above with an analytical eye.

What irked him was that it was clear that Tsuna was still holding back. Hibari had swiped after him again and again, and for the first few minutes of running and dodging Tsuna hadn't even bothered to take his hands out of his pockets. When he watched the way Tsuna moved, it became more and more clear that Tsuna was very used to fighting. Normal fighters do not have neither the control nor the ability to keep their movements down to an absolute minimum. Tsuna did not waste any excessive energy in dodging.

The entire time, throughout the fight, it only seemed as though Tsuna had been _playing_. It seemed like a game, and nothing more than a game—Tsuna's facetious smile at the end had been the proof of that. It really made Reborn wonder if Tsuna honestly, deep down in his heart, did not like to fight.

Reborn listened silently as the two boys exchange words after the fight and tugged at his fedora. He couldn't exactly disagree with what Tsuna had done. Hibari was the perfect candidate for the cloud guardian; as long as the prefect was interested in somebody close to Natsume, then Reborn could practically consider him a guardian.

Reborn met Tsuna a few minutes later, waiting by the entrance of the school. He swept his eyes over Tsuna's neat appearance and back up at the teen's face.

He had not forgotten Natsume's words the previous night. Natsume's comparison between Tsuna and him was unsettling, yet it opened an entire new window of thought.

The only explanation that he could come up with was that Tsuna was also an arcobaleno. It would explain how Tsuna didn't age. And if Tsuna was an arcobaleno, then the only one he could be was the Sky Arcobaleno. The Sky Arcobaleno, by all accounts, had went missing ages ago, and the other arcobaleno were all accounted for.

But even with this explanation, the inconsistency was still there. For one, Tsuna was not stuck as a baby, but rather as a teenager. Reborn couldn't explain why this was true. The most logical explanation was that Tsuna had not been there at the Fated Day, and hence was not cursed into an infant's body. If that was true, then Tsuna should have been stuck in his form when he received his pacifier…but then that implied that Tsuna had received the pacifier centuries ago.

Tsuna had, after all, practically admitted to be Giotto's brother. And that was what confused him.

Reborn knew, for a fact, that Luce had been the Sky Arcobaleno in his time. He knew that while Luce may be missing, someone must have taken her place. If Tsuna replaced her as an arcobaleno, then it was possible that his age was frozen as soon as Luce or her daughter passed on the curse—but then the timeline did not match up.

His next thought was: what about the previous arcobaleno? It was strange how he had never thought of it up until now, but Reborn just couldn't be one of the first arcobaleno. The systematic way of gathering the strongest seven implied otherwise.

Then what had happened to the other previous arcobaleno? Where had they gone? If Tsuna was still alive four hundred years later, then perhaps it was possible that other arcobaleno were still alive. Yet, if that was true, then how come Reborn had never heard of the previous members? As the world's strongest hitman, how come he hadn't once _met_ a member of the arcobaleno until he was turned into one?

In addition, Reborn couldn't figure out how the pacifiers worked. The pacifiers were part of the Tri-ni-sette, and what made them special was that not only they were strong, but that there is only one of each kind. If there was more than one copy, then the entire world would be destroyed. Tsuna just _couldn't_ own the sky pacifier.

Reborn knew he was onto something important, something huge. He just couldn't think of how everything fit together. He was especially concerned now that he suspected that Tsuna just may have all the answers to his questions about the arcobaleno's fate.

Looking at Tsuna's smile now, he felt his migraine returning. Reborn was careful to keep his face expressionless, showing none of the inner confusion.

"Get to class," was all he said.

Tsuna scrutinized his face. "You were watching the entire time, weren't you?" Apparently the stony look on his face was enough of an answer, because Tsuna sighed. "For the record, I'm not going to fight him in the morning. I dislike violence."

Reborn's headache worsened.

Tsuna made a move to leave, seeming completely unconcerned about the previous spar and exchange. Before the teen could leave, Reborn quickly decided on a path of action.

"Wait," he said.

Tsuna looked back, a slight grin stretching across his face. "That's the second time I've been told that within the last two minutes. What is it?"

Reborn cursed silently, already regretting his outburst. He was uncertain how to phrase his question, and even if he worded it wrong, what if he was wrong? His question, his worries, were all based solely off of guesswork and conjectures and random tangents of thought—nothing else.

And then there was the fact that Tsuna might have led him amiss. Tsuna, no matter how much he had chosen to reveal, was still nothing but an enigma. The brunet enjoyed watching him flounder around, searching for clues, smiling all the way. Tsuna could have very easily lied about some of the information that he had given.

For example, was Tsuna really the brother of Giotto? While the appearances may be similar, it was not impossible for Tsuna to be just a really skilled con artist. A con artist, who, by taking advantage of Fortunato's identity, decided to play the implausible role of an immortal teen in an attempt to manipulate the Vongola Decimo. If Tsuna was not who he had said himself to be, then it was entirely possible for Tsuna to be the grandson of Luce, because he would fit the timeline.

There was just too many factors, too many questions. With the new suspicions, he couldn't bring himself to trust 'Sawada Tsunayoshi' at all—even if there was some truth to what he had said. No, he would have to watch him carefully, hoping that he was wrong all the way.

Reborn could feel his determination wavering, his mind in a turmoil whether to voice the question or not. Tsuna was still watching him, the beginnings of a smirk showing on his face. That image alone was enough to break Reborn from his thoughts.

"Never mind," Reborn said instead. "Just get to class."

He never saw Tsuna grin.

* * *

Tsuna frowned as he continued down the street.

For the past couple days now, he had noticed the teenage girl stalking Natsume from behind. In all honesty, it wasn't very hard to notice her—anyone would notice a strange girl creeping on a wall. He had to give her credit though: it wasn't every teenager that was willing to forfeit their pride in order to stalk a small group of boys.

Sneaking a glance at Reborn, his mind flitted back to the short conversation they had held before school. He had been certain that Reborn was going to ask him about being an arcobaleno. The assassin had seemed adequately certain, and had nothing to lose by asking the question. Before the words could slip, the hitman had suddenly quieted down, dismissing Tsuna briefly in frustration.

Tsuna wondered what exactly had made Reborn so uncertain. While he knew that searching for his background information was no easy job, Reborn was doing exceptionally well. Reborn had managed to discover his relationship with Giotto. He had talked to Natsume, who held the next important clue. A couple more people, and everything would be clear—

-that is, if Reborn jumped the chance.

Tsuna nearly sighed, then restrained himself as he remembered that Reborn was beside him, on the wall. He didn't need the frustrated infant blowing up on him.

A shuffle of movement snapped him from his thoughts.

Tsuna instinctively grabbed at his gun, pulling it from its hidden holster before he realized that there was no malice. Whoever had approached them had no intent to harm, or to kill for that matter. Blinking, he slipped his hands back out into the open, pointedly ignoring the disapproving frown Reborn had sent him.

The teenage stalker-girl was staring down at them, her mouth foaming. Tsuna mentally recoiled; the last thing he needed on his list of trouble was a lovestruck fool.

"Um…" the brunette stammered, cheeks flushed. "My name is Miura Haru."

To his surprise, Tsuna noted that Haru was looking down at Reborn, not Natsume. From his side, Gokudera made a noise of disgust, while Yamamoto laughed uncertainly. Natsume seemed just as surprised as he felt.

"Will you be my friend?" Haru blurted suddenly.

Tsuna nearly fell over; just how desperate _was_ this girl? He couldn't believe that she seemed so…eager…to befriend an infant. He winced as Haru actually fell from the wall when Reborn accepted.

What a strange girl.

It was people like her that really entertained Tsuna. Even after living so many years, the appearance of strange and quirky individuals never seemed to bore him. While sometimes he took it into his own hands to create entertainment, he was always amused to see other people display their amusing personalities.

"Don't hug me," Reborn was saying with a smile, "because I'm a hitman."

Haru froze.

The next thing Tsuna knew, his intuition was yelling at him to move. His hand snapped up in response, fingers fastening securely around Haru's wrist. The girl cried out in shock as her slap was intercepted, her eyes shocked but stern.

"Don't touch me," Tsuna said softly, "because I'm a hitman too."

Haru glared at him, trying to wrench her wrist from his grip. When she couldn't pull away, she resorted to shouting her accusations.

"You're a bastard!" Haru declared. "What are you teaching him, assassination techniques? Don't destroy his innocence with your rotten heart!"

Tsuna watched in amusement as she ran out of breath, breathing heavily. With his free hand he gestured the rest of the group to go home without him. Haru seemed insulted as Reborn nodded and walked away, followed by an uncertain Natsume, scowling Gokudera, and laughing Yamamoto.

Natsume paused as he was walking away. "Um, it's not really Tsuna-nii's fault..."

Which only caused Haru to frame Natsume.

Caught up in her rant, Haru didn't notice Tsuna release his grip on her wrist. She didn't notice him walk silently away, although Natsume did. The blond sent him a desperate look, clearly asking for help, but Tsuna just waved his hand dismissively and slipped soundlessly out of sight.

While Haru was quite the interesting character, Tsuna had gotten quite bored of her rant about the purity of children and the corruption of teenagers and adults. Frankly, he didn't need Haru screaming in his face, accusing him of being a bad influence.

Tsuna took the long route home, scouting various parts of the city as he kept an eye on certain people. He watched a redhead go about his daily life, and of Ryohei running enthusiastically across the town. He watched Kyoko chat with her friend, Kurokawa Hana, as they shopped in a more crowded section of the town. He stepped through the door nearly an hour later, calling a quick "I'm back" before heading to his room.

To his surprise, Natsume had two red marks, one on each cheek. One looked distinctively like a slap, while the second looked like he had suffered quite a strong punch. Natsume was grumbling to himself angrily, clearly not happy about being slapped by a girl.

When he saw Tsuna, he started to whine. "Why did you ditch me?"

"I felt like it," Tsuna replied.

At the very least, Tsuna consoled, Natsume had not been punched in the eye. That meant that there would be no lasting black eye for the rest of the school to see. Natsume did not seem very relieved at this little piece of reassurance, and resorted to grumbling under his breath as Reborn continued to rig the room with bombs for their homework session.

While Reborn set the last couple bombs, Natsume complained about how Reborn had only seemed to goad the girl on. Reborn had not stepped up for him, instead leaving Natsume to deal with the frightening side to an overprotective fangirl. Natsume had been slapped, punched, and nearly strangled for teaching a baby about the mafia game and how to play with guns.

Tsuna raised an eyebrow at Reborn, who didn't respond.

In addition, Gokudera had not been happy about his future boss being slapped. He had drawn his dynamite, ready to blast the girl to smithereens, when Yamamoto had cheerfully pulled Gokudera away. Of course, that action was not well appreciated, which led to unnecessary swear words and more explosions before they finally went home.

Soon after, Reborn took to blowing Natsume's books to shreds for every problem he got wrong. Needless to say, Natsume was not happy. Tsuna left the room before he could get caught in another explosion, hoping to intercept Lambo before the child was attracted to the sounds of chaos and mayhem.

* * *

The following morning, Haru intercepted the group on their way to school.

Decked in full samurai armor, Haru boldly stopped the group of five on their way to school. She seemed ready to drop in the blistering heat, but nonetheless declared a fight on all the boys as she swung her hockey stick around. Unfortunately, Gokudera threw dynamites at her in an attempt to drive her away, which effectively knocked her off of the bridge.

So now, Tsuna was staring down at the drowning girl, wondering how exactly it had come to this.

Natsume was panicking, saying how she didn't deserve to die even though she was strange. Gokudera was being distantly polite, but Tsuna could detect the faintest trace of satisfaction from driving away the menace. Yamamoto was staring down at the water, troubled, watching the brunette flounder in vain.

"If you don't help her soon, she'll drown," Tsuna said helpfully. "The armor's too heavy for her."

"I know that!" Natsume said desperately. "Don't remind me!"

Reborn watched Tsuna for a moment, before getting a wicked gleam in his eyes. Before Tsuna could say otherwise, Reborn swung the Leon-hammer happily into Natsume, who fell screaming into the river.

Tsuna looked at Gokudera, who seemed oddly content with the brutal treatment of Natsume. When he saw Tsuna staring, Gokudera stiffened.

Tsuna smiled disarmingly. "For future reference, Natsu-kun can't swim."

"…We should help him," Gokudera suggested flatly.

"We should."

Now both Natsume and Haru seemed to be on the verge of drowning. It was rather sad to see that Haru, with her overly large armor, was still a better swimmer than Natsume. The latter was gasping in panic, struggling to stay above the water.

Reborn seemed unfazed by the fact that Natsume couldn't swim, although he was watching the scene with narrowed eyes. He seemed to be calculating the chance that Natsume would save Haru, if Natsume was given the chance.

Yamamoto was laughing nervously behind him now, as if expecting the duo to rise from the waters as if it was nothing. Tsuna made no comment on the blatant worry in his eyes.

"Yamamoto-kun," Tsuna said instead. "Can you swim well enough to drag them both to the riverbank?"

Reborn cast him a sharp look.

Yamamoto grinned. "Of course!"

Tsuna didn't need to say anything else, because Yamamoto quickly dropped his bags and flung himself over the edge of the bridge. There was a large splash, and Tsuna watched with distant eyes as Yamamoto hauled Natsume back to dry land. Tsuna jumped down from the bridge, landing on the banks lightly.

Haru was still struggling, clearly about to sink. Yamamoto wouldn't make it in time, after struggling to drag just Natsume back to the banks. Tsuna gritted his teeth. Oh, screw it, he thought, and after quickly stuffing his bound pacifier into his school bag, he launched himself into the water.

The cold water hit him brutally, and Tsuna shivered as chills ran through his body. Several strokes later, he was beside Haru.

Haru looked like she was going to fall under any moment. She didn't have the strength to sustain herself in the water, not to mention having to swim with her useless armor. After a brief hesitation, Tsuna pulled her up onto his back before dragging them both to shore.

Haru was shivering violently as he deposited her gently onto the banks. Tsuna was hyper aware that his white uniform was now transparent. When Yamamoto asked if he was alright, he jerked away violently.

"I'm fine," Tsuna said tightly. "I'm fine."

_Just go away._

He could feel Reborn's watchful gaze on him, and it was not helping his mood. 'Go away,' he wanted to say, but that would be too obvious. His movements were stiff and tense as he backed up to his bag, slinging it in a fashion so it covered his back.

"I'm going back," Tsuna said, turning around and walking quickly away.

Nana was surprised to see him, but didn't question him as he stormed up to his room. He peeled the clingy uniform, tossing it onto his bed.

That had been close, too close. Reborn would undoubtedly hypothesize that there was something that Tsuna didn't want them to see; he had not been very subtle with his actions. Tsuna hadn't intended for Reborn to discover that something was wrong with his body, and would have preferred it to stay that way.

He had locked the door when he had entered his room, and his intuition was not acting up. Tsuna was certain that Reborn was still with Natsume and his gang, and felt no rush in going back to school. After the little mishap by the river, he was in no mood to do so.

So he stood silently, half-naked in the sunlight. He absently pulled a towel from his closet, drying his wet hair until it stood up in an awkward mess.

He didn't mind. There was no one to see him in the room, after all.

No one to see him, and his heavily scarred back.

* * *

Edited 2/17/2013


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry for the delayed update. For those of you that care, I was first caught up writing my NaNoWriMo and then off studying for finals.

As always, thank you for all of the support.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own.

* * *

Reborn sighed, tugging lightly at his sideburns as he sipped yet another cup of espresso. The stray strands of hair straightened and curled at his touch, bouncing back and forth, like they always did whenever he pulled and twisted them. Leaning back in his seat, he took another sip as he waited in one of his many hidden spots within Namimori Middle. From this angle he could see one of the many screens that displayed the views of the various cameras and listening devices; he listened as the teachers droned pointlessly on subjects he had long since mastered. At the very least Natsume seemed attentive enough. The blond wasn't sleeping, which was good, but considering the previous near-death experience that occurred not an hour before it would have been hard to take a nap.

In all honesty he shouldn't have sent Natsume flying into the river, but he had expected Tsuna to do something to help. At the moment he had thought that perhaps Tsuna wasn't getting involved because Natsume wasn't, so he had knocked Natsume off of the bridge to urge Tsuna to make a move. But no, the brunet hadn't done _anything_, instead just stared there with blank eyes as those on the bridge watched the scene unfold.

Reborn supposed that he had Yamamoto to thank that Natsume was still alive. A minute longer and the blond wouldn't have been able to hold up; no, he would have sunk like a rock. Haru, though, was fine, and now seemed completely infatuated with Tsuna for saving her life. Though, in Reborn's opinion, it seemed that the action had been apathetic and dismissive, as if Tsuna actually hadn't cared about what would have happened to the girl but saved her for appearances.

Either way it didn't matter at the moment, because both Haru and Natsume were fine. What was bugging him this time was the usual enigma of Sawada Tsunayoshi.

He pulled at his fedora until it shadowed his eyes. It seemed strange, really, Tsuna's aversion for water. If he was right then the brunet would have done something, anything, if it hadn't required jumping into the river. Something was strange about his entire set of actions: he was hiding something, that much was certain, but like everything else Reborn wasn't entirely sure what exactly he was hiding and what that meant. It had to do with Tsuna's back, though, because the brunet had refused to turn around until the backpack was safely covering the transparent wet shirt.

He had to admit it though, he was curious—but he wouldn't pry. Not about this one. Somehow Tsuna's desperation to get away seemed different, not as cryptic, because this time Reborn was certain of his actions and was able to draw clear connections. No, it seemed different; it seemed _personal_, even, and as much as he wanted to know he knew he shouldn't pry into other people's lives.

Reborn suspected that half of the reason why Tsuna wasn't at school was because he didn't want him to ask about it. This time, he thought grudgingly, he wouldn't push the matter. For now he would respect Tsuna's wishes, until he found another reason to not do so.

* * *

Irie Shouichi was just an ordinary person, thank you very much. Up until this point he had lived a fairly average life, certainly ordinary, and definitely had not done anything to warrant this type of punishment.

When the cow-kid had crashed through the walls he had known that something had changed for the worse. It wasn't just the fact that his room was now permanently destroyed, though he hated how all of his personal belongings were now a mess. But that was fine, since he could always clean it, and surely having a hole in his wall wasn't that big of a deal.

Maybe it was.

Then there was the big brown box of goodies that the Bovino had sent him, whoever the hell they were. The cow-kid, Lambo or whatever his name was, seemed to have quite the crazy family. Irie though wasn't particularly upset of the appearance of Lambo, because at the very least his family received a generous sum of money with wine, pasta, and olive oil.

And don't forget the grenades. They seemed perfectly innocent, mixed with the assortment in the box, and he hadn't realized that they were real up to the point where Lambo threw it.

Then came the disastrous meeting with the Sawada's. All of the people seemed a little bit off of their rocker—fine, they seemed downright insane—and by the time five minutes had passed Irie never wanted to see them ever again. First came the sunbathing lady, then the tiny Reborn, then Lambo decided to try to murder Reborn and got half-killed instead, and Irie was _done._ If he had known that sending Lambo back would be so much trouble then he would have chucked the stupid baby out of the hole in his room. If Lambo could survive smashing through a wall, then he could survive falling three stories onto the ground.

So he stood under a tree, frantically trying to contact his mom, because he wanted to leave all of the psychotic killers in the house. Even as he talked Lambo was blown up again, courtesy of his grenades and the baby Reborn, and the explosion was not helping. He still needed to return the box, goddammit.

"Who blew the stuff up? Bianchi, what are you _wearing_?"

Irie looked over his shoulder from his safe spot. Standing in the doorway was a teenager with blond hair. Finally, finally there was someone that didn't look remotely insane, that maybe he could hand the box off to before he died in an explosion or something of the like.

So he stood up and tentatively walked to the door when Lambo decided to shoot himself with a bazooka. Pink smoke—_pink_—wafted into the air, and then a taller man stepped out and addressed himself as Lambo and the blond boy was 'young Vongola,' which was definitely was _not_ his name. From the corner of his eye he saw someone with a Mohawk run away.

Yep, Irie decided. He was officially going mental.

And then Bianchi, the sunbathing lady, suddenly pulled out a gun and randomly shot everywhere. A bullet grazed his face, and he panicked. A few more inches and he would have died. The thought was not helping, not at all, but before he could do anything his glasses shattered.

He curled into a ball and cried.

"I'm dead," he whimpered slightly, trying to make himself as small as a target as possible. He was severely regretting not throwing Lambo out of the hole now. Irie knew that he had to get away, and soon, before he died, but the bullets were flying everywhere and he needed to see a psychiatrist. It was a nightmare, after all—but that thought was immediately shot down as a bullet pierced his ankle. He bit down on his lips to stifle a shriek of agony.

"Are you okay?"

He lifted his head slightly at the unfamiliar voice, hoping that it wasn't another weirdo. Thankfully the other teen looked normal enough, except for his unruly brown hair because hair is not supposed to stand up at that angle. Besides that the boy was exceptionally calm, as if the whole situation was perfectly normal and was a part of his everyday life.

"Help me," he begged. His leg hurt like hell, and the boy seemed to notice it. The brunet took off his jacket and crudely bound the ankle, pulling it tight with a muffled grumbling of irritation.

The brunet stuck out his hand. "Come on, let's get going. Where do you live?"

After a brief hesitation Irie spilled his address. His mother had always told him to never trust strangers, and with Lambo's appearance that belief had only been strengthened, but somehow he found himself instinctively relaxing in the brunet's presence. The other boy seemed to radiate calm, and his instincts told him that he could trust the brunet. So he did, and the brunet merely nodded before slinging Irie's arm around his neck.

"Lean on me," the boy ordered, and Irie gratefully did so. His ankle was bleeding freely now, and he wasn't eager to place weight on it. The boy glanced at him and caught his eyes, and the strangest thing happened. For a moment everything seemed to pause: his eyes blanked and his entire body stilled, and then a few seconds later he was shaking his head.

"Is something wrong?" Irie asked concernedly as the boy pressed a hand to his temple.

Sorrel eyes regarded him carefully.

"No, nothing."

The walk back to his house was a slow one. With the wound and his weight the walk took ages, and every step caused him to wince. He officially hated his life, because surely he had done nothing to deserve this madness, and unfortunately he couldn't convince himself that it wasn't reality. Perhaps the hours would have passed quicker if he did.

They had to stop at the park, and the brunet gently set the foot down on a nearby bench. Blood ran in streams across the brown paint, and the world was beginning to spin.

The brunet flipped open his phone and dialed. "Hello? Reborn, is Dr Shamal there yet? Yes, I know you called him over…a kid got injured from Bianchi's bullet." Irie suppressed an indignant exclamation. "Yes, tell her not to do it again for me, or else she'd have to face—consequences. So he's not there? Oh well, thanks anyway. Ciao."

"What is it?" Irie said weakly when the brunet returned.

The boy sat down. "Calling a friend who knows a doctor. He could help remove the bullet for you. I'm no good with medication."

"Why not just call an ambulance?"

He snorted. "And have them ask what the hell you did to get yourself shot? Unfortunately I'm going to have to ask you to keep quiet on that, otherwise you'd get hurt even more. So no, no ambulance. The doctor I was requesting should be here in…ten minutes. Here, Shouichi-kun—lie down for now. You've lost a lot of blood."

Irie complied, lying down tiredly. His vision was beginning to fade.

The boy was talking. "Don't worry, we'll pay for the new glasses and the medical care. Sorry about that, by the way."

"It's fine," he mumbled back. "Say, what's your name?"

The brunet blinked once.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi. Get some rest."

Irie nodded slightly and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the unrelenting pain.

* * *

Tsuna drummed his fingers lightly against the park bench. Irie was lying by his side, his eyebrows scrunched up, fingers tightly clenched in a fist. The boy was strong, Tsuna thought distractedly, for someone who wasn't part of the mafia. An ordinary person would have been on the ground crying, unable to function from the pain.

But Irie Shouichi wasn't destined to be ordinary; he was going to join the mafia.

It was inevitable, something that would happen in the coming future. His most recent vision guaranteed that. Tsuna wished that he could control when he had the random attacks of foresight, but at the very least he hadn't been shot during the momentary blank. From what he could see of the future it was bleak and grim, nothing that he wanted to deal with at the moment.

He looked up to the shuffle of clothes, and then a white lab coat entered his vision. Tsuna raised his eyebrow; Dr Shamal had arrived, earlier than he had expected.

Shamal took one look at Irie and scowled. "You're the one who called me here? I don't treat men."

"Irie Shouichi is an ordinary citizen who was shot, thanks to the Poison Scorpion," Tsuna replied coldly, staring unwaveringly at the older man. "If you want I can arrange a meeting between you two, but for now, please make sure that he's alright."

With a grimace Shamal complied, although he wasn't sure if it was because of the first statement or the last. Probably the latter, Tsuna mused.

"Where was he shot?"

"The ankle." Shamal removed the jacket, opened his briefcase, and set to work.

Tsuna leaned back against the bench and sighed. At least this matter was getting taken care of. There was still a lot that he needed to sort out, and he wasn't eager to do any of it. But he was grateful that he would have something to do at long last, it had been so long since he had actually had to do anything. It didn't seem like he'd be too bored in the near future.

He ignored Irie's cry of pain when Shamal removed the bullet. "Gently," he wanted to tell Shamal, but at the moment the worst was done and it didn't really matter. The redhead was holding himself up well enough, and saying anything now would be too late.

When Shamal was done the older man leaned back with a sigh. "Don't put too much weight on it," Shamal warned as he set his equipment away. "For now it's bandaged, and it'll heal with time, but it'll leave a permanent scar." Irie nodded, face pale, and Shamal cast a look at Tsuna. "Hey, kid."

Tsuna raised an eyebrow.

"You owe me." Shamal turned around, the white coat flapping. He didn't stop grumbling until he was out of the park.

Tsuna sighed as he stood up. "Shouichi-kun, I'm going to take you home now." Ignoring the redhead's protests he lifted the redhead up and hoisted him over his shoulder. Without another word Tsuna headed off, Irie's embarrassed protests sounding the entire way.

* * *

Life returned to normal in the Sawada residence, or at least, it returned to a minor state of chaos. Granted, there were few explosions and near-death experiences here and there, but overall life dropped down a few notches.

True to his word Tsuna had brought Shamal over to his home to meet the Poison Scorpion as promised, and Bianchi was far from pleased. By the time she was done with him he had multiple poisoned cakes smashed into his face and multiple kicks to his stomach. Overall he was beginning to regret bringing him, but a promise was a promise, a debt was a debt.

For the week after their encounter Bianchi was shooting Tsuna nasty glares. He didn't mind, it didn't matter that much anyway. His apathy must have shown on his face some time or another, because he found his breakfast spiked with poison more than once. Bianchi always seemed to expect him to eat it, but he just threw it out; a quick explanation was all that was needed to explain the reason to Nana.

Then Moretti decided to turn up, wandering into the shared room in the middle of the night with a mask on his face. At the time it really seemed like Moretti had a death wish, because the visit was unexpected and uncalled for. Reborn managed to explain what Moretti wanted to do to show off his talent of stopping his heart before Tsuna disposed of him. The following morning had been quite interesting, with Natsume screaming about actually killing someone and having a panic attack.

In the passing weeks Tsuna continued to go to school. He hadn't forgotten about Hibari's demand to spar against him, he just chose not to attend. Naturally Hibari chased him around the campus again, all the more fueled by his loss, and eventually Tsuna reluctantly agreed. Sparring in the morning was fine, he supposed, compared to being chased around the campus each and every day. It was less work, and Reborn seemed fine with it.

And so his daily life began to settle into a routine. Every morning he would go to school two hours earlier, leaving Reborn to deal with Natsume, to fight against Hibari. He could make up the lost sleep in the classroom, and since he sat near the back, he could usually get away with it. Breaks were spent on the rooftop with Gokudera, who was still being too formal for his liking, and Yamamoto. The two didn't get along with each other, and oftentimes he found himself tuning out their bickering and reminiscing about the past.

* * *

It was at one sparring session with Hibari when things once more began to move forward. Throughout the sessions he had decided to go with different fighting styles, different tactics. One day he'd fight hand-to-hand, then the next day he'd restrict himself to kicks only, and then he'd fight with knives or his gun. Hibari adapted to the different styles quickly, and Tsuna was impressed by the speed at which Hibari was able to learn and change.

He hated to admit it, but the fights were interesting and fun. At least, they were more entertaining than anything else he had to do for a long time. Some part of him missed the adrenaline running through his body, the way he opened up his senses, and sparring in general. Throughout all of the years he had lived violence had been a constant; sparring was something that he was familiar with, ever since he was a child, and something that never changed in the shifting world.

Tsuna was sparring with his fists one day when the door to the gym slammed open unexpectedly. He didn't pause, twisting out of the way one more time before catching the next tonfa before it collided into his head. Peering curiously at the intruder, he opened his mouth.

"Ah, you're Sasagawa Kyoko's brother, Sasagawa Ryohei."

Ryohei stood in the door in his shirtless glory. It was clear that he had been running before barging into the gym; there was a fine sheen of sweat the glimmered in the gym lights. His gray eyes stared at brown fixedly with a passion that Tsuna immediately disliked.

Hibari glared at the newcomer irritably, annoyed that his spar had been interrupted. "Omnivore, let's continue," he demanded, slashing outward with the tonfa to emphasize his point. Tsuna stepped backwards, letting the metal graze his hair.

"Wait a moment," Tsuna said, tilting his head to the side to avoid another strike, but Hibari glowered and swung again. He ducked down this time, lashing out with his feet, and Hibari jumped to avoid the blow. With a grumble Tsuna punched upward, restraining himself, and forced Hibari to block and shift back.

An enthusiastic shout interrupted them. Ryohei marched into the room, disregarding Hibari entirely, and placed firm hands on Tsuna's shoulder.

"You're stronger than what I have heard!" Ryohei yelled, and the brunet winced. "Join the boxing club!"

Tsuna backed up, pulling away from the boxer with an apologetic smile. "Can't," he said, which was a lie, but he had no intention of getting further involved with sweaty half-naked teens. Displaying his scars for the world to see was not something he wanted to do.

Unfortunately, Ryohei didn't relent. "Your talent comes once a decade! Your addition would make the boxing team stronger to the extreme!"

He didn't change his mind. Ignoring Ryohei's persistence he turned to look at Hibari, who pinned him with another glower. Tsuna tilted his head to the side, injecting a sheepish tone to his voice. "Sorry," he said curtly, "I'm going to have to postpone this match." Without a backwards glance he scooped up his backpack and made for the door.

He nearly collided into someone as he stepped through the doorway, stepping to the side as soon as he saw the other person approaching. It was a girl with auburn hair. In her hands was a backpack, and she was breathing quickly as though she had come from a run. He recognized her easily enough.

"Onii-san!" Sasagawa Kyoko called. "Oh—Tsunayoshi-kun."

"Tsuna will do," he said out of habit. She was looking at him rather strangely, and he raised an eyebrow in response. "Is something wrong?"

"No." Kyoko turned her head away and brushed past him, running for her brother who was still shouting all of the benefits of joining the boxing club. Really, Tsuna thought irritably, it was annoying.

Waving slightly with his hand, he turned and walked out of the door, well aware of the three different gazes piercing his back.

* * *

She stared at the brunet from her seat in the classroom. It was break, and the group of boys she was watching had chosen not to retreat to their usual spot on the roof. They were circling around one desk, Sawada Natsume's, and she could easily hear the boisterous commotion that they were causing without a thought.

Kyoko watched them silently as Gokudera said something sharp—she couldn't hear exactly what—but Yamamoto's laugh resounded throughout the room. The group was so odd, she thought with a mental shrug. Gokudera Hayato, Yamamoto Takeshi, Sawada Natsume, and Sawada Tsunayoshi.

She tightened her hold on her bag, golden eyes sharpening slightly, just enough for her best friend to notice it.

"What's wrong?"

Hana's voice was cool, and she looked up to meet's her friend's eyes. They regarded her concernedly, flickering once to the boys that Kyoko had been looking at before returning to stare at her. Kyoko shifted and smiled warmly, surprised and cheerful that her friend had noticed her strange behavior.

She shook her head. "It's nothing."

"It's not nothing." Hana leaned back with a sigh, crossing her arms across her chest. "You're thinking about the other day, aren't you?"

Kyoko couldn't say no.

She couldn't remember exactly when it was, except that it was the day of Gokudera's transfer into Namimori Middle. She and Hana had been walking down the hallway together, chatting aimlessly about something she couldn't remember, when she had noticed some commotion happening outside. Hana had been the first one to recognize what was going on, pulling Kyoko decisively away, but not before she saw a glimpse of Gokudera throwing what seemed to be dynamite at Natsume. Concerned, she had tugged her arm away. Natsume had been the one who saved her from Mochida, and she wanted to repay him somehow even though she knew it wasn't entirely her fault.

Hana had paused. "Kyoko, just leave the monkeys to do what they want! If they get expelled then that's fine."

But neither of them had left, watching the scene unfold with curious eyes.

Her eyes had widened as she watched the orange bullets, flickering as though they were on fire, split apart and tear through the air. Those weren't normal bullets, she wouldn't have been able to see normal bullets. Kyoko wasn't stupid, and she knew that something was strange about the entire situation, because the bullets had slammed into Natsume without leaving so much a mark. As the threat against Natsume's and Gokudera's lives passed she had turned her gaze upward towards the roof, trying to spot the savior, when she had spotted the mass of brown hair darting quickly away. Later she had seen Tsuna running away from the staircase that led to the roof.

It was hard to act like she didn't think anything of the little gang afterwards when Gokudera began to follow the two Sawada's around, however reluctantly. She couldn't ignore Tsuna's words when he had spoken to Yamamoto, who was about to jump off of the roof, because she was aware that something was different, that _they_ were different in a way that she couldn't describe. Especially Gokudera and Tsuna—somehow they seemed dangerous, out of place, as if they didn't belong in the perfect monotony of her everyday life.

When she had walked into the gym in the morning she hadn't expected to see Tsuna, standing easily in her brother's presence, listening to her brother's familiar 'join-the-boxing-club' speeches. She hadn't expected to see Hibari, who was infamous for his lack of tolerance for crowds, watching them go with narrowed eyes. It was strange, really, because she would have thought that Hibari would have either smashed his tonfas into her brother (not that she was upset that he hadn't) or attacked Tsuna regardless of Ryohei's presence. But he hadn't, and that by itself was bewildering. It almost seemed like Hibari respected Tsuna.

She was dragged back to reality when Hana prodded her lightly. "Hana-chan?"

Hana sat back, satisfied. "I was calling your name multiple times. Like I said, are you going to the cake shop with Haru later?"

Kyoko had met Haru not too long ago when she was out treating herself to her monthly cake appreciation day. Apparently the two girls were more alike than at first glance; Haru had been doing the same thing. They had struck up a conversation almost immediately.

"Yes," she said with a smile. The monthly rule could wait.

As soon as school ended she made sure to meet Haru outside of the school. The brunette was bouncing in her heels excitedly for another journey to the cake shop.

"Kyoko-chan!" Haru beamed, and Hana dismissed herself, leaving the two girls to set off to their plans for the day. They turned around and began to walk away from school, but not before Haru had seen something—someone—else that had caught her attention.

"Hahi, Tsuna-san!" Kyoko looked around in confusion, following Haru's exclamation to see Tsuna and his group coming out of the school. As she watched Haru immediately ran up to them with that cheerful smile of hers. "You go to the same school as Kyoko-chan?"

Tsuna looked back and forth between the two girls. "As you can see."

From his side Gokudera grumbled and looked at her with malice. "Go away, you're annoying."

"Haru is not annoying!" the brunette said with a huff of annoyance. "Tsuna-san, tell them!"

Tsuna just shrugged. "Gokudera-kun," he said boredly, "Haru-san's not annoying." His voice was very unconvincing.

But Gokudera didn't draw his dynamite, which was a good thing. Instead he glowered, shooting dirty looks at both Haru and Tsuna before turning away.

It was only after another ten minutes of bickering that Kyoko could take Haru away to the cake shop. Haru yelled something at Gokudera, who scowled back before Tsuna gave Kyoko a small smirk and led the cursing boy away. During the walk to the cake shop Haru continued to gripe about the idiots, which reminded her strangely of Hana.

"I didn't know that you knew Tsuna-kun though," Kyoko said as they sat down at their tables. She placed the slice of cake that she ordered onto the table; after setting her bag onto the ground she cut off a small piece of the strawberry mousse and placed it into her mouth.

Surprisingly, Haru smiled. "Haru knows Tsuna-san because Tsuna-san saved me from drowning in the river!" Then she proceeded to explain the entire incident to Kyoko, talking animatedly without a care for those listening around her.

When she was done, Kyoko wasn't sure what to say. "Tsuna-kun saved you?" she repeated instead.

"Hahi, why are you so surprised?"

She pushed another piece of cake into her mouth. There was no harm in explaining. So slowly, in between bites, she began to explain what she had seen happen between Gokudera, Natsume, and Tsuna. Haru sat riveted by the tale the entire time, occasionally pitching in comments, but by the end she was smiling again.

"Tsuna-san's so cool," she beamed, and Kyoko found herself mentally agreeing.

"Haru-chan." The brunette looked up at her voice, and Kyoko leaned forward in her seat. "Just don't tell anyone, okay?"

Haru blinked. "Haru won't tell anyone!"

Kyoko smiled and resumed eating, never seeing the confusion on Haru's face. From the way Tsuna looked as he had run down the stairs, so many days ago, it seemed as though he hadn't wanted anyone to find out of his involvement. If she could help him by doing this much, then she would. After all, it was nothing big, wasn't it?

* * *

"Why are you here?"

Tsuna sighed as once again, Haru proclaimed her undying love for him. After rescuing the girl, she never left him alone, and it was quickly becoming irritating. He thought he was dealing with it fairly well though; at least, he wasn't exploding into curses like Gokudera always did whenever he saw her. Apparently he was getting rapidly annoyed too, and Gokudera just didn't have the same tolerance level as he did.

To his side, Gokudera scowled, and he heard Natsume trying to placate the bomber. For a moment it seemed that Natsume's efforts would go to waste, but finally Gokudera put away his bombs with a tight grimace.

"Che." Gokudera glared once, clearly showing his irritation at the order, but otherwise obeyed.

He refrained from sighing again. It seemed like Gokudera's loyalty wasn't exactly there. After all, Natsume technically hadn't won the match, and there was no exactly rule stating that Gokudera was supposed to be Natsume's subordinate. He had interfered before anything could happen. Ever since their talk, so many weeks ago, Tsuna had become aware that Gokudera seemed to loathe the fact that he had neither won nor lost.

Yamamoto laughed. "Haha, do you want to go somewhere?"

"Can't," Natsume said glumly, shooting Reborn a glare. "I have tor—homework."

Reborn blinked innocently. Haru twitched, as if she really, really wanted to hug him, but remembered Reborn's words and glared at Natsume.

Tsuna ran his hand through his hair. It was noisy, annoyingly so. At the very least, when he got back the shared room he could have some peace and quiet. Reborn usually took Natsume out, since Nana didn't like to hear her son scream.

"Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto-san—want to come over to my house today?" Natsume said suddenly.

"Haha, why not?"

"Reborn?" Natsume peered at the tutor carefully. "Can they?"

Tsuna gave Reborn a glare. 'Say no,' he said silently, and Reborn, being the hitman he was, instantly read the message. But instead of the nod he hoped to receive, Reborn smirked, and Tsuna groaned. He could already feel the oncoming migraine; as if Yamamoto and Gokudera and Haru were bad enough, he didn't need Bianchi and Lambo and Reborn to add to the mix.

"Yes, they can."

Natsume whooped for joy.

But surprisingly or unsurprisingly Gokudera didn't seem very happy with the prospect. He glowered slightly, staring at the ground in front of his feet.

Tsuna caught on first. "Ah, maybe I should tell Bianchi-san to hide her face, so you won't collapse." The last thing that he needed was having to deal with Gokudera barfing across the floor.

Gokudera bristled, starting to pull dynamite out angrily. "Are you suggesting that I'm weak—"

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and some of his annoyance must have shown on his face. Gokudera's mouth twisted into a deeper scowl.

"Ahaha, he didn't say that," Yamamoto interrupted helpfully.

"Shut up, baseball-freak!" Gokudera snapped, and Tsuna raised his eyebrows. Apparently the 'loss' against Natsume had dealt quite the large blow to the bomber's self-confidence and pride. Green eyes leveled against his, but Tsuna didn't bother to move. He stuck his hands inside his pockets and leaned against the wall Reborn was standing on with a sigh.

Tsuna eyed him with disinterest. "I didn't say that," he said, but he knew that Gokudera wasn't going to listen. Just like he thought, the bomber made a move to ignite the sticks of dynamite.

Gokudera spat. "Not going to fight? Or are you too weak that you don't want to fight—"

"Hahi, don't say that!" Haru chastised, placing her hands on her hips, a stern look in her eyes. "Tsuna-san's the one that saved your life—"

"Haru!"

His sharp voice cut through the din like a knife, and silence fell instantly. Haru flinched at his tone, blinking confusedly, before flushing as the memory of what she had said slammed into her. With another sigh, he resisted the urge to turn around and bash his head into the wall, because he was such an idiot for assuming that only he and Reborn knew that he was the who saved Gokudera. Mentally berating himself for his carelessness, he looked at Reborn once before meeting Gokudera's gaze with resignation.

There was a strange look in Gokudera's eyes now, something that Tsuna didn't want to analyze.

From the corner of his eyes he saw Haru press her hand to her mouth.

"Oops."

* * *

Technically it's New Year's, at least it is in my time zone. So, Happy New Year's everybody!

* * *

Edited briefly 2/17/2013


	10. Chapter 10

Rewritten portions posted, though currently unbeta'ed unless noted at the top. Major changes: removed all portions of Tsuna's past and his thoughts regarding it, rewrote and added in some events/conversations, but overall kept everything in the same chapters that they were originally in. However, I suggest going back to reread the chapters, because there are new portions that are relatively important.

**Why bother to rewrite?** My writing has changed quite a bit since I first posted this fic, and when I went back and reread my writing, it gave me a headache. So yes, I rewrote parts of it and grammatically fixed the rest until I was happy.

**Why take down Tsuna's past?** While writing them separately does make reading more interesting, keeping everything together allows more chances for expanding on conversations, topics, etc. It allows me to cover more events in general instead of forcing me to focus on the most important ones. If the portions of Tsuna's past are not kept together, I'm jumping around far too much for my own liking on events and meetings that I want to bridge together and connect.

**Then when will everything be shown?** Soon, I promise: within a few chapters, Tsuna's past arc will begin, and should span a couple of chapters. Because portions of Tsuna's past has been posted before, these updates should not take too long—but then given my updating schedule it's hard to say.

**Beta'ed by ShamelessDilettante**

* * *

The head honcho ground his teeth in irritation at the man bowed before him. His subordinates were failures, all of them, and not a single one could provide him with the resources or the materials that they needed in order to challenge the mafia and make a name for themselves.

"What do you want?" he snapped. He wasn't in a good mood, far from it. If one more blundering idiot brought news of being intercepted and taken out by some stupid brunet, he'd murder them himself.

The man kneeling by his feet suppressed a shudder. "I have news."

"It'd better be good."

"It is," his subordinate promised, and the head honcho paused when he heard the elation in his subordinate's voice. "I've found the Vongola heir!"

"And?" he breathed in anticipation. He hadn't expected this; of course he had heard rumors, but he hadn't been stupid enough to get his hopes up. If he could get his hands on the heir, then everything could go his way. He could almost see it: the Momokyokai ruling over the Vongola family, gathering all of the resources and riches that they could possibly want before throwing them out like trash. But no, he thought, kicking himself mentally. He'd have to be careful and play his cards right.

His subordinate seemed to sense his jubilation, because when he spoke again it was quicker, more excited. "He's weak. Blond hair, brown eyes. Name's Sawada Natsume. He's just a teenager."

All around the head of the Momokyokai, his fellow yakuza began to murmur amongst themselves.

"Any potential threats?"

His subordinate fidgeted, fingering his Mohawk almost nervously. "Yes. The Poison Scorpion's there, as well as some cow brat. Bovino family, I think. And there's a baby with a hat."

The head honcho leaned back and flexed his muscles, allowing the beginnings of a smirk to cross his face. Yes, he'd have to be careful—but even so, he could see the beginnings of his vision take form. After all, who could resist the allure of fame and glory? To think that even the dream was made possible by that one odd ramen-man.

"Then," he said maliciously, "let's plan."

* * *

With a low exhale he regarded the teen before him. Tsuna grumbled beneath his breath, very irritated with how this day was turning out. He wasn't mad, far from it, but this situation was one that he had wanted to avoid if at all possible because of Reborn. But what was done was done, and now his actions had spiraled into something that looked irreparable, if Gokudera's expression was any indication.

Gokudera was staring at him, face pale, with his hands clenched tightly into fists. It wasn't hard to guess what he was thinking, his shock and disbelief shone clearly in his eyes. A few seconds passed before the delinquent could finally voice the question Tsuna knew he would say:

"You—you saved me?"

Shrugging, he answered, "Yes." Tsuna shot Haru a reproachful glare, and she ducked her head in guilt. He wasn't entirely sure where she had learned that piece of information from, but his closest guess was either Kyoko or Hana. The girls had gotten quite friendly around each other recently, and they were the only ones who could have seen and passed on the information to the brunette. No one else would have.

Gokudera was staring at him strangely. "Why?"

"'Why?'" he repeated, mulling the thought over in his head. "Because of Natsu-kun."

Natsume looked down, cowed by the intimidating air.

"What does he have to do with anything?" Gokudera asked quietly. In his mind's eye Tsuna could see the proverbial gears spinning in the bomber's head, trying to piece together his motivations, and decided to wait before answering. Even as he watched Gokudera's mouth popped open with a hiss of realization.

"Got it?"

Gokudera looked away stiffly. "If your only concern was saving Natsume-san, then you wouldn't have saved me."

Tsuna expression shuttered for the briefest of moments before he mustered enough self-control to give the bomber a crooked smile. Sometimes Gokudera was too smart for his own good.

"True." Before the bomber could say anything more Tsuna turned and vanished in a wisp of black.

* * *

Reborn was busy that night, leaving Natsume momentarily to deliver another phone call, just like Tsuna had suspected since earlier in the day. At least, to him it wasn't so surprising: damage control was never something that he liked to deal with. Natsume seemed confused, not that he was unhappy to escape Reborn's warpath.

Tsuna watched Natsume flounder around uselessly for a moment before walking to one of the bookshelves to read a book. As the blond pulled one out from the rows upon rows of books he hesitated, shooting a quick look at his backpack, then cast another wistful look at the book in his fingers. With an audible sigh Natsume slipped the book back into its place and pulled out his homework from his bag. From the tree branch outside Tsuna smiled. Natsume was changing, slowly but surely, at least enough to give his academic studies more thought.

"Tsuna-sama!"

He grumbled irritably, tearing his eyes away from the window to meet the curious stare of the bomber below. Ever since he had disappeared in the afternoon, Gokudera had been looking for him, whether to thank him or to simply just stalk him he didn't know. He had seen the bomber scouring the city hours before, and if Gokudera was here again then it meant that he still hadn't given up.

With a sigh of irritation Tsuna jumped down from the tree branch he had been sitting on, landing on the ground lightly. "What is it, Gokudera-kun?"

"I wanted to talk to you." Gokudera shoved his hands into his pockets, looking up at the window. "How is Natsume-san doing?"

Tsuna raised his eyebrows curiously. "He's doing homework; Reborn's out somewhere. So what do you want to talk about?"

Gokudera straightened up subtly, tearing his gaze away from the bright lights from the joint bedroom two floors above. "Why did you save me? Why not just save Natsu-kun, your charge?"

"Because you remind me of someone I once knew," Tsuna answered blithely.

Taken aback, Gokudera had the decency to look away, abashed, focusing once more on the windows above when nothing else proved catching.

Smiling softly, Tsuna redirected his own gaze to the glowing lights, changing the topic before the silence became too awkward. "So I'm 'Tsuna-sama,' and Natsu-kun is 'Natsume-san?'"

Gokudera drew himself up with a huff. "You are 'Tsuna-sama' because you saved my life."

"And Natsu-kun?" Tsuna enquired gently.

The bomber scoffed. "He isn't like you; he nearly killed me, even if it was through the Dying Will Bullet."

"But if you wish to stay in the Vongola, Natsu-kun will be your superior. Will you address him as 'Natsume-sama' then?"

Gokudera fell silent for a moment, lips pulled into a distasteful scowl.

"Perhaps."

Rubbing his head awkwardly, the brunet sighed. "Give Natsu-kun a chance, at least. What happened with you wasn't entirely his fault. Up until a day before he met you, he hadn't known that his family had any connections with the mafia, much less about being a heir to the most powerful famiglia in the world. He hadn't fully adjusted before you tried to murder him, and the only thing that he could do was react in self-defense. The Dying Will bullet inhibits rational thought, wiping out everything except for a single resolve. Natsu-kun's resolution was to defeat you in order to protect himself. You can't blame him for reacting the way that he did."

Though the frown remained permanently etched in his face, Tsuna could see the expression beginning to thaw, just a tiny bit. "…I'll try."

Tsuna nodded patiently, allowing nothing to change in his expression. "Would you like to come in, then, Gokudera-kun?"

Eyeing him warily, Gokudera agreed, and after a brief hesitation the two of them entered the house.

* * *

Sighing to himself, Tsuna shoved his hands into his uniform pockets as he walked back home. Natsume had forgotten his lunch (again), and Reborn had insisted that the brunet should be the one to go fetch the forgotten meal. "Dame-Natsu needs his classes," Reborn had said mildly, and with a disgruntled look Tsuna had relented.

He frowned when he saw yet another child wandering along the streets. This one had a long braid, an extreme lack of eyes, and seemed incredibly nearsighted as far as he could tell. At least, it would explain the constant squinting.

"Are you lost?" he asked as he approached the child. Now that he was closer, he recognized her: it was I-pin, the student of Fong. I-pin peered upwards blindly, clearly unable to discern a thing, and Tsuna wondered how someone so nearsighted could possibly be an assassin.

Stringing together a barely coherent sentence, the Chinese girl managed to say, "Namimori Middle directions?" Tsuna leaned back on his heels. He had the feeling that somehow, I-pin would manage to cross Natsume's path one way or another if he pointed out the direction. Not that she'd manage to do much harm either way, he mused, and Reborn was there. So with a slight smile he told her and bade her good luck.

When he arrived back at school, he was surprised to find Natsume getting tossed around like a ragdoll by I-pin. He was even more surprised to see another infant standing near Reborn serenely, the two chatting in low voices as he approached. Even Gokudera and Yamamoto were caught up in the moment, Gokudera attempting to blow I-pin up and Yamamoto laughing uselessly from the sidelines.

"Natsu-kun, here's your lunch," he called, setting it down a safe distance away from the pandemonium. Natsume pleaded something akin to 'help me' before dissolving into a fit of coughs. Ignoring the commotion, Tsuna batted away the garlic scent and made his way over to the two infants.

"Ciaossu," Reborn said casually, and Tsuna nodded to him in acknowledgement. Then he looked at the other infant, the one with black hair and a red pacifier. Thankfully his own was still wrapped tightly in its chains, otherwise the three pacifiers would have shone the moment he stepped into campus.

"Good morning," he said to the Hibari-infant look-alike. "Fong, I presume?"

Fong smiled and sank into a customary bow. "Sawada Tsunayoshi, nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Tsuna peered at them curiously for a moment, wondering: he had heard that I-pin no longer studied under Fong, at least not now. He hadn't seen Fong together with I-pin earlier either, and even now I-pin seemed unaware of her master's presence. Taking her myopia into account, it wasn't an improbable conclusion. "Reborn, what did you call him here for?"

"To help train Dame-Natsu," Reborn said with a cheeky smile. Tsuna raised his eyebrows, and Reborn elucidated, "Fong specializes in hand-to-hand combat."

Tsuna gave him the Look. "And not to test me?"

"That too," Reborn admitted, and Tsuna gave him a satisfied smile before returning his gaze to the scene in front of him. Presently there was something odd on I-pin's forehead: was it Mahjong? As he watched the number shifted from six to five.

Tsuna looked inquiringly at Fong. "It's I-pin's Pinzu Time Bomb," the storm Arcobaleno elaborated placidly. "When I-pin is nervous, the countdown will activate, and when it reaches zero it detonates a large explosion."

"And you aren't worried?"

Reborn quipped, "You won't allow a member of the family to get hurt."

Tsuna grinned in response, watching as the countdown reached three, then two. Gokudera, Kyoko, and Yamamoto arrived on the roof, and after some quick thinking, Natsume somehow managed to persuade the baseball player to throw the little girl off the roof as far as he could.

"She's falling," he pointed out helpfully as he watched the little girl plummet to the ground, hundreds of feet away. "From that height and speed she's falling at, she could die."

He grimaced at the widening smirk on Reborn's face; damn, he had walked into some sort of trap. Flicking his fedora up, Reborn smiled, and the calculative glint in his eyes made Tsuna want to groan.

"If you're concerned, then why don't you do something about it?"

Tsuna shook his head wryly as he realized what this was all about: just another test, but this time, to let Fong see exactly what he was capable of. Though he was tempted to prove Reborn wrong—that no, he didn't care in the slightest whether I-pin lived or died—but he could play Reborn's game, at least for Fong's sake. Without another word, he turned on his feet and disappeared.

An instant later he was in front of I-pin, falling beside her, and he swiftly wrapped his arms around her tiny form before bracing himself for impact. He landed on the ground easily, ignoring the look that I-pin was giving him, and turned towards Namimori Middle where Reborn and Fong were undoubtedly watching.

"I-pin," he murmured softly, "are you okay?" When she nodded hesitantly, he smiled down at her. "That's good."

But really, he didn't care either way.

* * *

"Has he always been able to do this?" Fong asked from his spot on the rooftop.

Reborn leveled him an annoyed glare. It wasn't as if he didn't understand the reaction; if he hadn't seen Tsuna teleport with his own eyes then he would never have believed that such a thing was possible.

"He has," he admitted, "ever since we first met." Even now, he could still recall the way Tsuna had simply _appeared _behind him during the conversation he had been trying to hold with Natsume.

"I've never seen anything like it before," Fong mused, though he didn't look anywhere as stunned as Reborn had felt the first time he had crossed the strange ability. Then again, Fong wasn't the calmest Arcobaleno for nothing.

Reborn returned to looking in the direction that I-pin had been falling, though he couldn't see the brunet at all. "Neither have I."

* * *

Tsuna was mildly surprised when Reborn announced that he would have Fong teaching Natsume basic hand-to-hand combat, ranging from aikido to karate, mainly the latter. When he asked, Reborn explained that Natsume had been the one to request the martial arts training.

"'For self-defense,'" Reborn quoted.

Tsuna frowned inwardly, feeling rather ambivalent at the news, but outwardly he smirked. "Why not teach him yourself?"

Somehow the round eyes managed to look sarcastic. "I'm an assassin, I aim to kill. Fong, on the other hand, is an international martial arts champion. Whose fighting style would benefit Dame-Natsu more?"

After talking it over for a while, the two infants managed to settle on a schedule. Every day, Fong would take Natsume to practice basics and katas in the afternoon, and when night fell, Natsume would be handed to Reborn. "You'll be exhausted by the time the day's over," Tsuna had warned originally, but Natsume just shook his head determinedly and said that he wanted to do this. The brunet sighed, as if dynamite and mines weren't enough.

What Natsume didn't anticipate, though, was staying up until three in the morning trying to correct his homework. By the end of three days he had lost weight and looked plain ill. Even after Nana tried to reason with him, he remained adamant on his decision—Reborn too—because he was Natsume's rightful tutor, he needed to find time to cram everything that needed to be covered in a given day into the blond's hectic schedule.

Tsuna found himself on the bad end of the deal. Fong had moved in too, deciding to sleep in Lambo and I-pin's room to help mediate the fights, which helped significantly in reducing the amount of headaches Tsuna got a week. However, because of Natsume's schedule, the teacher and student were always up, blowing things apart at a decibel that could wake the entire world. Nana was barely managing to sleep due to stress and exhaustion now, and after a while, Tsuna became fed up with the constant ringing in his ears. So one day he took his bed and moved it to Lambo, I-pin, and Fong's room, at least there he had a wall muting the sounds of the explosions.

"Can't sleep?" Fong asked one night. Stifling a yawn, Tsuna looked at the clock and groaned. Four in the morning, just great, he'd been sleeping for roughly two hours a day for nearly a week now. He liked his sleep.

"Too many explosions, I can still hear them in my ears." Fong nodded understandingly. "How is Natsu-kun doing during training?"

"He's doing well," Fong said. "Natsume picks up the katas quickly, and his basic kicks and punches are improving."

"His balance and stance needs more work though," Tsuna pointed out, "he's still tripping over his feet as he moves."

"It'll improve with time," Fong reassured, and Tsuna suppressed a smile. Talking with the storm Arcobaleno was easier than talking with Reborn. Admittedly, his relationship with the assassin had been fairly cordial the first day, but ever since Reborn had discovered that he was nearly four hundred years old, things between them had become incrementally strained.

Tsuna sat up in his bed, careful not to jostle the unconscious forms of the two children. Thankfully, Lambo and I-pin had long since crashed. The poor children didn't deserve to be kept up so late by what was going on all around them. While they were Mafiosi, they were just five, and no one of that age should have been thrust into such a cruel world.

"Aren't you curious about me?" he said abruptly. Fong hadn't once asked him about his past since Tsuna had moved in, and Tsuna found it rather annoying; he was bored.

Fong gave him a slight smile. "I am, but if you do not wish to divulge information then I will not pry."

Blinking in surprise, Tsuna chuckled and lay back down. Sometimes it was hard to remember that while some of the past counterparts were exact carbon copies of their predecessors, others acted like entirely different people.

* * *

Dino arrived shortly after, causing a general uproar in the town of Namimori, which was to be expected. It wasn't every day that the residents saw hundreds of black-suited men all gathering around a single house.

Natsume, of course, wasn't used to it either. When he had come home the first day to the sight, he had been stupefied. "Why are all these people here?" he asked Tsuna nervously, but Tsuna just smiled and answered, "You'll see." And he did see, maybe even too much. While walking to his front door, he seemed entranced by the possibility of having so many followers under his influence.

After stepping through the front door and into the privacy of his own home, Natsume dropped his bags and dashed up the stairs like a madman. "Reborn," he called, nearly stumbling over another step in the process, "is this your doing again?" Barging through the door without restraint, he stumbled to a halt in the midst of more suited men.

"We've been waiting for you, Dame-Natsu."

Reborn cast Tsuna a cursory look before disregarding his presence entirely, focusing on the blond standing shakily in the middle of the doorway. There was a new black chair in the room, and given the shelves and shelves of books and twin sets of tables it could barely fit. In order to cram all of the Mafiosi into the room, some of Natsume's bookshelves had been removed to god-knows-where, and Tsuna's bed had been turned to the side so that it leaned against the wall, providing more room to stand. Ruffling his hair with a sigh, Tsuna gently guided the teen out of the way so that he could move to his usual place against the wall.

"Reborn!" Natsume stared, aghast, at the blank walls where his books had once stood. "What did you do to our room?"

"I moved everything around."

"I can see that," he said with a slight emphasis. "Where are my books?"

Tipping another cup of tea into his mouth, Reborn answered, "Nonexistent."

Leaving the two to bicker (or rather, let Reborn continue bullying Natsume for a while longer), Tsuna slid his gaze to the rest of the men in the room. Ever since he had walked in he could feel at least twenty, if not thirty, pairs of eyes fixed on him, accessing him warily to see if there was any real danger from his presence. He lifted his gaze to meet one of the Mafiosi's, and the other man's fingers twitched and slid closer to his belt; so they were armed.

"Yo, Vongola boss," the man behind the oversized chair said, and theatrically he turned slowly around in his chair. Blond hair and a casual green coat instantly denoted him as the leader of the group of suited men.

As the man introduced himself as Dino, Tsuna scrutinized him as much as possible even while the latter was doing the same to Natsume. Casual and relaxed, he thought with approval; as Dino began to chastise the younger blond for not having 'the aura,' Tsuna found himself dropping his guard a fraction.

"You're ambitious," Dino was saying, "but the way you present yourself is terrible. Eager, but unwilling, and your boss disposition is zero." Natsume drew himself up with a scoff, but Dino merely raised his hand in a silencing gesture and plowed on. "Not bad, don't let my descriptions disappoint you. Before Reborn tutored me, I was just like you."

Natsume's face shuttered. "'Just like me.'"

"Or not," Dino corrected lightly.

After telling enough stories to fill The Autobiography of the Amazing Dino and His Pet Turtle Enzio, they finally settled down enough to have a more sensible conversation. Seeing that he had nothing else to do, Tsuna picked up Lambo and I-pin and carried them back to their room, scolding them for nearly dropping grenades on the members of the prestigious Cavallone family. He wasn't sure where Fong was for the day, but given that the martial art training had been cancelled, he was probably otherwise occupied for the moment. Not that it mattered, because if Fong respected his privacy then he could do the same. Fong's life didn't matter, anyway.

"Lambo," Tsuna said with a sigh as the five-year old vehemently denied any fault, "don't carry grenades around the house in your hands, they could explode and potentially harm others."

"Tail-head pushed me!"

I-pin squinted (read: glared) at him. "Did not!"

"Whether I-pin did or did not is not the problem," he said patiently. "The problem is that you fell and nearly killed the Cavallone in the process. Lambo, if anybody had been hurt, Dino would have had a right to avenge his family without further involving the Bovino family."

Lambo stuck out his tongue, "Then Lambo-san would have just beaten them up!"

"Hai, hai," Tsuna murmured as he set the two children down. "Do you want candy?"

Anything to shut them up.

He learned fairly quickly that Lambo adored grape-flavored candy, given that he hoarded every single piece, leaving I-pin trying to argue with him in her broken Japanese. "Lambo bad!" she scolded, but her words weren't really effective, and instead of listening Lambo laughed loudly and ran away. As she began to tear after him, Tsuna scooped her up in a single movement and lifted her up, squirming, off of the ground.

"I have some more, you know," he said gently, handing her several wrapped assortments in her tiny hands, and she stilled enough to look at him with a look of blank confusion. "Here, five of them—one more than Lambo. Don't give him any, alright?"

I-pin smiled at him adoringly. "Xie xie!"

In the end he spent the rest of the time with her, initiating new conversations every once in a while when she fell shyly silent. Lambo joined them too after a while, and the moment he stepped into the room he called her 'Tail-head' again to which she jumped to her feet and screamed 'Broccoli Monster.' Tsuna rubbed his temples tiredly; why did children have to have so much energy? He could barely muster enough to stand up.

Later, while the rambunctious family began to eat dinner with Reborn's newest guest, Enzio completely demolished the bath. Which was such a shame, he thought distantly, but it wasn't that bad. Luckily no one had gotten injured. Nana had been terrified, Natsume and the two children had been whipped, but overall everything was okay.

After promising to fix the bath for the hundredth time in a minute, Nana finally accepted Dino's apology with a grumble. "Be more careful next time!" she chided, placing her hands firmly on her hips for a semblance of authority. Dino rubbed his head sheepishly as he watched her storm away from the bathroom.

"Oops," he laughed, looking very contrite. At least he looked like he was feeling guilty, Tsuna thought with a shrug of his shoulders, but really, the attempt at the conversation was half-assed at best and definitely not subtle, given Reborn had already ushered Natsume away.

Tsuna glanced at Enzio, who was tied up and overturned on its shell. "Is it worth it having a pet that you can't control?"

"Enzio?" Dino asked in surprise. "He's my friend, of course he's worth it. Though, it's sometimes a pain to have to blow-dry him every time he touches water, and to have to replace whatever he destroys in the process."

"Damage control, huh?" The brunet lingered for another minute, watching the stilling turtle, before turning around and walking away.

* * *

Tsuna knew that Reborn was up to something even before the car drove up to Natsume and tattooed hands dragged him away. The mischievous grin was enough to tell him everything that he wanted to know.

"Don't interfere this time," Reborn said from his usual spot on the top of the fencing of the houses.

"What are you planning?"

"Just watch and listen."

So Tsuna did, leaning against the wall, watching as Reborn lied about how the Momokyokai had kidnapped Natsume and how Yamamoto and Gokudera stood no chance. After seeing one of their friends get kidnapped, neither teen was in a particularly good mood to be told that they weren't strong enough to help.

At least, Yamamoto wasn't. "I'll leave the cops to you," he said without missing a beat to Reborn's heartless statement about calling the police instead. "I'm going after them."

Gokudera hesitated briefly before catching Tsuna's eyes, and the brunet could almost see the bomber recalling their previous conversation. 'Give Natsu-kun a chance, at least,' he had said, and he was pleased to see that Gokudera had enough control to swallow his pride and to acquiesce. "I'm going too," Gokudera said tightly, and Reborn watched him closely before giving them both a short nod.

As they dashed madly after the car that they wouldn't catch, Tsuna exhaled, trying to ease the tightness in his chest. Come to think of it, he had been holding his breath. Reborn popped by next to him, jumping onto his head, and Tsuna could find no reason but to let the infant stay where he sat.

Dino stepped out of the car as it recircled around the neighborhood, watching as Natsume was tossed unceremoniously out of the car with his wrists and ankles still bound tightly together. "They're trustworthy," Dino remarked, "thoughtful enough of protecting their boss. Natsume, you're lucky to have such a kind family."

Natsume flushed, staring down at his still-bound feet. "They're not my family, they're my friends—or, at least Yamamoto-kun is." But he looked uncomfortable at the last statement, shooting looks in the direction that the two teens had headed, and Tsuna could see quite clearly that he was worried for not just the wellbeing of Yamamoto but also Gokudera.

Then Reborn happily announced that the Momokyokai was, in fact, a real yakuza family that he hadn't made up on the spot like Dino had assumed, and both blonds dissolved into a floundering panic.

"They aren't just delinquents, they're strong martial artists!" Dino admonished severely. "What happens if they get hurt?"

Reborn fell asleep, and Tsuna sighed.

"They'll be fine," he said blandly, "they aren't just schoolboys. They're Mafiosi."

And nothing could change that.

* * *

True to his word, both Yamamoto and Gokudera successfully managed to defeat the group that was in the yakuza reception hall before Tsuna and the others arrived. Aside from a couple of unconscious men, none of them were terribly hurt, more comatose out of shock than anything else.

"Natsume!" Yamamoto called in relief. "You're alright?"

Natsume nodded with a brilliant smile. "I'm fine, don't worry about me."

Gokudera tched and kicked at another unmoving body as he headed over to join the celebrating group without any real emotion. He paused in front of Tsuna with a considerably brighter attitude. "Tsuna-sama," he said in low undertones, "I did what you asked, giving him another chance."

"And?"

He squirmed uncomfortably at Tsuna's piercing stare. "Natsume-san's alright."

Humming softly, Tsuna turned around and pushed his hands into his pockets. "Not enough, you haven't been with him long enough. Natsu-kun's your sky, Gokudera-san, your boss, your head, your peer. Stay with him longer, you have time to just watch before you have to make a decision. He's always willing to accept you with open arms, should you choose to accept, just remember that."

A few minutes later Tsuna sent them out of the Momokyokai door. Something about the place continued to unnerve him, but he couldn't quite figure out what. All of the members were unconscious or otherwise incapacitated, and none of them had presented any real threat. So what was triggering his intuition?

When they returned back to their respective homes, Natsume parted with the pair more reluctantly, especially after Yamamoto had talked with him for the entire walk back home. Of course, Gokudera had pitched in his two cent's worth. "Shut up, Baseball-Freak!" he had snapped after a twenty-minute reminiscence about Yamamoto's latest game, but if the baseball player remotely cared at all about Gokudera's harsh exclamation then he didn't show it. Instead he had just chuckled, the innocent smile still stretched across his face.

"You should try playing," the Asari carbon-copy had suggested. "It's fun, you'll enjoy it!"

"Like hell I will!"

Tsuna had to suppress a snicker, because really, some things never changed, not at all.

* * *

Ranking Fuuta appeared the next day, after terrifying Natsume with a bout of anti-gravity and an oversized book. Tsuna exhaled as he listened to their conversation from outside the bedroom; their conversation was conveniently cutting into Reborn's training time, and he knew that the entire Sawada residence would pay for the interruption with their sleep.

"Mafiosi are chasing me," Fuuta grinned. "Save me, Vongola Decimo!"

Natsume groaned, "Why me? We can barely handle so many children in the house as it is."

Tsuna could practically hear the smile widening from the other side of the door. "You're ranked 859th of 872 in combat ability when it comes to mafia bosses, but you're ranked number 12 in inability to turn down requests! Not to mention you're—"

Footsteps padded across the floor, and Tsuna inclined his head with a small exhalation. "Nana-san, is something wrong?"

Nana twisted her hand in her dress. "Is the boy going to stay here too?"

He pushed himself away from the wall, tuning out the conversation beyond the door. He was fairly certain what would happen anyway, when it came down to Reborn's intervention and Fuuta's slyness and Natsume's reluctance in general.

"Ranking Fuuta is not a Mafioso," he said quietly, "at least, not the in the way that you believe he is. He's a child, and he doesn't fight. He's just an informant."

Biting her lip, Nana relaxed minutely, although she still cast wary glances at the door. "How many more Mafiosi will come? There's already so much."

"No more people will come to stay over," he promised, "though a few more people may come to visit from time to time."

She gave him a queasy smile. "Alright."

Tsuna grinned back softly; she was strong, at least in the face of uncertainty, and somehow she reminded him of the family that he once had so long ago. It was strange, though, because his mother and Nana's personalities weren't much alike, aside from being so caring about their families and children. He knew that his mother had been firmer, much more decisive, but in her own way, Nana was just as strong. Not many could bear living with constant smiles and lies.

From beyond the door they could hear Reborn piping up, contributing his own meddling into the conversation. "Why don't you help him?" he said to Natsume. "You're not going to leave a weak child to deal with the Mafia alone, are you?"

Natsume stilled, and when he spoke next he spoke grudgingly. "Fine, you can stay."

Fuuta gave a whoop of joy and jumped on the blond's bed. Curving his lips upward in amusement, Tsuna opened the door and poked his head inside. All eyes focused on him.

"Tsuna-nii!" Natsume said, scrambling to his feet. "Is something wrong?"

Ignoring the question, the brunet looked at Reborn with a sly smirk. "I'm going out for a walk, is there any trash that you want me to clean up?"

Reborn watched him for another moment before nodding in Fuuta and Natsume's direction. "Yes, the book's, don't leave a single trace. Do you know where they are?"

"Hey!" Natsume protested.

"Of course," Tsuna continued, and Natsume shot him a betrayed look. "Well then, I'll be going now."

Natsume crossed his arms. "Tsuna-nii!"

Closing the door behind him, Tsuna stepped past Nana, who stood there with a frown. "Nana-san, I'd suggest you stay indoors for a while and keep the children from heading outside. I'll be back in ten minutes." Lifting his hand in a gesture of farewell, he waved off her protests and moved outside.

The suited men who had been hunting Fuuta were loitering around the house when he stepped out the door. He eyed them carefully: three of them, none of them were particularly strong. Forget ten minutes, this wouldn't even take one.

"Hello," Tsuna said pleasantly, "do you need something?"

One of the three men was stupider than the rest. After glancing at the other two in his group, he moved up toward Tsuna until they were nearly an inch apart. Tsuna sighed inwardly, he hated being so short. It was irritating to have to have to look up in order to meet the gazes of those that tried to look down on him condescendingly.

Then again, he grumbled, he couldn't see the man's eyes anyway. The stupid black fringe hid them.

"Spit it out!" the-man-with-a-fringe demanded. "Where did you hide Fuuta?" If the spittle flying into Tsuna's face wasn't enough, the-man-with-a-fringe grabbed his collar and lifted him up roughly.

"'Hiding Fuuta?'" he said blandly. "You seem to be mistaking something. I'm not hiding him, he's in the house. Feel free to pick him up…" The-man-with-a-fringe gestured at his friends to go ahead, and with a nod, they moved toward the house, securely out of reach of Tsuna's hands. The brunet sighed, they had all dropped their guard so easily it was unbearable.

"…that is, if you can."

The-man-with-a-fringe didn't have time to react as Tsuna slipped his hands out of his pockets and twisted, freeing himself from the grip, spinning around to deliver a powerful neck-chop. The man dropped to the ground like a rock.

At the sound of the pained moan from their friend, the two other men hissed and turned around, hands on their guns, but Tsuna was already in motion. Quickly, without a sound, he darted forward and ducked beneath the guard of one of the men, slammed his palm upward and into the man's jaw. With an agonized screech, the man stumbled backwards and dropped his firearm, blood flowing from his mouth where he had bitten off his tongue. Tsuna snagged the gun out of midair and smashed the butt into the man's head, knocking him out instantaneously.

The last one was backing away now, fear clearly shining in his eyes as Tsuna approached, spinning the gun in his fingers playfully. "Now, now," he chided, "it'll be less painful if you don't resist."

"W-What do you want?"

"Hm?" he grinned, taking another step forward. "Just taking out the trash, you see? I don't appreciate you targeting my charges, and Fuuta and his oversized book counts." He raised the gun.

"Wait, if you leave us alone I can give you anything you want—!"

"You don't know me very well then," Tsuna sneered, "because you see, the things that I want are the things you can't give me. And unfortunately for you, I was told to not leave a trace."

The gunshot exploded through the air, and all was still.

* * *

Natsume perked up at the sound. "Reborn, did you hear something?"

"No, what did you think you heard?"

Frowning skeptically, Natsume turned to the closed window. "Nothing. Maybe I was just imagining things then."

* * *

Fuuta was rather surprised when he discovered that the men who had been hunting him had mysteriously disappeared a few days later. When he heard the news, he crossed his arms and stared at the wall.

"Maybe they lost interest," Natsume suggested offhandedly.

Fuuta shook his head. "They were willing to chase me from Italy to Japan to get my ranking book, so why would they give up after locating this house?"

But after another week had passed, no one had seen any trace of them, and eventually the topic became worn out and shoved aside. Thankfully, Tsuna thought, because every time he heard the topic come up he felt like banging his head against the wall. Of course, the bodies were well-hidden, and he doubted that any person would find them anytime soon. No one would have enough boredom to try to dig through the entire Namimori forest, where the bodies were buried a good thirty feet under.

In the end, Reborn never voiced his part in orchestrating their disappearance, and after watching the hitman for a while Tsuna did the same. Occasionally he caught Fong watching him whenever the topic came up, and after a while he admitted his part to the storm Arcobaleno. "I disposed of them," he told Fong bluntly, and Fong only nodded, unsurprised. "Reborn wanted them out of the way."

"Did you?" Fong asked curiously.

Tsuna gave him a small smile. "Perhaps."

Despite the time that had passed, Natsume seemed very much fascinated by the rankings that Fuuta was able to give. One night he asked the young brunet for some of his. And of course Fuuta didn't mind; after all, Natsume had promised to protect him, even though there seemed to be nothing to protect him from. Somehow the word got out so that Gokudera and Yamamoto were in the room twenty minutes later, the former looking genuinely interested and the latter looking adequately confused.

With a small smile in Natsume's direction, he lifted his gaze to the ceiling and slipped into his ranking mode. Luckily the bookshelves were no longer in Natsume's bedroom, because as soon as Fuuta went into a trance, everything and everyone (except for Fuuta himself) began to float.

"Haha, I'm floating!" Yamamoto laughed.

Natsume looked peaky.

"To begin," Fuuta intoned, "Natsume is third out of 652,183 people who is most likely to take in a child if they really needed it." Blinking rapidly as all of the gazes in the room fixed on him, Natsume looked away and turned tomato red. Tsuna allowed himself an indulgent smile, that sounded quite like him whether the reasons were selfish or not. Swimming to the corner of the room (read: flailing clumsily), he opted to stay out of the ranking session for his own good.

"Gokudera is first out of 401,938 people who is most likely to become the right hand man of the next Vongola boss. Yamamoto is first out of 872,639 with the most potential to become the world's best swordsman."

While the two aforementioned teens pondered what their rankings could mean, Fuuta spotted Tsuna hovering in the corner and frowned. "Tsunayoshi is first out of 912,719 who is most inclined to follow his heart."

Yamamoto and Gokudera swerved to look at him, which Tsuna dutifully ignored. When everything reverted back to normal and gravity returned, Reborn shot him a furtive look, indicating that they needed to talk later. But Tsuna just smiled to himself: Fuuta's rankings were uncannily accurate. No one before had caught him in that light.

* * *

Reborn eyed the brunet carefully as he settled into Fong and Tsuna's shared room with the other children. He had cancelled Natsume's nightly torture for the day, given that he had something more important to do at the moment, and had practically thrown Natsume the responsibility of handling Lambo, I-pin, and Fuuta. He didn't want them to have any chance of interfering with this meeting, because he needed to hold it, now that both Fong and Tsuna were here in the same room with no other distraction. Besides, it was a good chance at family bonding. Fuuta was already attached to Natsume at the hip, so Reborn didn't mind, but Lambo and I-pin seemed to be spending more time with Tsuna recently. Whether that was good or bad Reborn didn't know.

"So," Tsuna said mildly, "what do we need to talk about?"

"Quite a lot. How has Fuuta been doing lately, settling into the house?"

Raising a skeptical eyebrow, Tsuna answered, "He's doing fine, he's made friends with Lambo and I-pin recently. I don't talk to him much."

Reborn began pulling at his sideburns, lost in thought. So they weren't close, he mused, perhaps this was a good thing. At the very least, he wouldn't have to worry about Tsuna possibly taking Fuuta under his wing too, like he had with I-pin. She was closer to him than Natsume, and that wasn't good. Unless Tsuna joined the Vongola under Natsume, then things could go drastically wrong.

Crossing his arms, Tsuna said, "Is this about Fuuta's assailants?"

"No, not entirely," Reborn responded, and after a moment he added, "though I am curious about what you did to them." He was; he hadn't been able to watch with Natsume in the same room with him at the time, but when he looked out the window five minutes later no one had been there. There hadn't been a single trace of violence, not a single drop of blood, to show for the gunshot that had rung through the street just minutes before.

The brunet sighed. "Fong?"

"I'm curious as well."

With another exhalation, Tsuna relented. "They're dead. I killed them and moved their bodies to where they won't be found. But that's not pertinent, is it, Reborn? That's not the real reason why I'm here."

Reborn pulled the fedora lower on his head; more than often he hated the way that Tsuna seemed to be able to see through him. He did catch the intentional change of conversation though, and marked it for future reference. "No, it's not."

"But it's related to Fuuta," Tsuna guessed. "Fuuta's ranking of me, is it not? 'Tsunayoshi is first out of 912,719 who is most inclined to follow his heart.' Not quite the ranking that you expected, is it not?"

Reborn suppressed a grumble of irritation. Next time he wanted answers, he would find someone other than Tsuna to question; trying to talk to the brunet was either like talking to a wall or talking in circles. It was impossible to get straight answers when the brunet decided to be difficult, and somehow everything Tsuna did managed to leave him with a migraine.

"What I called you here for," Reborn said tersely, "is to ask you questions, not the other way around." He wanted to get this over soon, but he had the sinking feeling that the three of them would be here for a while.

The brunet just smiled. "So it's not a meeting but an interrogation, is it?"

"Yes."

Fong raised his hands placatingly. Though Reborn had never been the calmest of all people, it was still fairly difficult to rile the assassin up. It wasn't a good sign that Tsunayoshi was able to do so, Fong thought with a sigh, but honestly, he couldn't do much if both Reborn and Tsunayoshi were eager to jump at each other's throats. "Reborn, Tsuna, both of you should calm down and relax."

"I _am_ calm," Tsuna objected. "It's Reborn who's not."

"Tsuna," Fong chided. Somehow they reminded him of two bickering children.

Tsuna stuck out his lip in a pout, "Alright, but Reborn, hurry up and get to the point. If you're going to censor your words, then why bother calling me out now when I could be sleeping?"

Fong sighed, shaking his head, opting to stay out of the conversation for now. When Reborn had called him so many days ago, he had been curious to know what had Reborn on edge. After requesting him to send I-pin over to Namimori (which Fong allowed, since it would be a good learning experience for her), he had been ready to hang up before Reborn interrupted his good-bye:

"_No, Fong, you're coming over too."_

Fong had to admit that Reborn's suspicions were well-placed. From what he had come to observe, Tsuna was charismatic but indifferent to what was going on around him. Even if no one else saw, Fong noticed the apathy in Tsuna's eyes whenever he smiled at Lambo or I-pin, or when he interacted with Natsume and Fuuta. It was as if he was distanced, in some way, which prevented him from connecting with everything else going on around him. In fact, the only time he could recall seeing a flicker of genuine emotion was around Gokudera and Yamamoto, which by all accounts, was perturbing.

Whether he cared or not, Tsuna had managed to worm his way into the minds and hearts of everybody connected with the Vongola in the house. Or at least, everybody except the two Arcobaleno and Fuuta. While Fong was tempted to say that it wasn't a bad thing, he couldn't because the fundamental issue with Tsuna's relationship with everybody else was that he simply _didn't care._

Yet Tsuna was still civil enough to interact with Fong politely, and he suspected that this was because he was calm and unexcitable. Reborn, on the other hand, was sadistic and easier to annoy. On some levels, it seemed that Tsuna specifically targeted Reborn not only because Reborn was an assassin and therefore a challenge, but because he was easier to aggravate. Given how long Tsuna had been alive, playing with Reborn seemed to be just a game, and nothing more than a game.

After all, four hundred years was a long time, and certainly everybody (or at least, nearly everybody) Tsuna had come into contact with must have died inevitably. With people dropping dead as the years passed, he would have been hard-pressed to continue to manifest honest relationships with others.

Fong understood this much, though he couldn't possibly _understand_ the depth of the apathy and empathize with the brunet. The only thing he truly felt for the teen was sadness. Nobody, after all, deserved to have to watch everybody that he possibly cherished die before him and continue living, no matter what else happened.

But even so, Fong knew that Tsuna's behavior was not good for the family. If Tsuna treated Reborn as a source of entertainment, then what was to say that he didn't think the same of Natsume? As it was, he doubted that Tsuna would ever stand beneath Natsume, not if he found it more interesting to resist control and disappear. He would still outlive everybody else because he was outside the jurisdiction of time. When everybody else that knew of his existence was dead then he could simply start all over again, choosing new players and new roles on the metaphorical chess board and watching where everything went.

So Fong found Fuuta's ranking of Tsuna interesting, because he hadn't believed that Tsuna would be likely to 'follow his heart.' Shut in a world of apathy, Tsuna seemed to be the one person who wouldn't give in to his emotions. He of all people understood what it was like to lose what he treasured the most. Being likely to follow his emotions despite all of the deaths he had seen seemed odd.

Fong could understand Reborn's concern regarding the topic, too. If the only people that Tsuna had shown genuine emotion to was the carbon-copies of Primo's family, then there was a chance that Tsuna would take matters into his own hands. There was a chance that Tsuna would try to take everything away from Natsume, if that was what it meant to 'follow his heart.'

Quite frankly, it wasn't reassuring.

Reborn, being Reborn, jumped immediately to the crux of the matter. "I need you to distance yourself from the potential guardians. Your presence is unnecessary, and the potential guardians are being swayed in your direction. If you truly don't wish to become Vongola Decimo, you will close yourself off from them as much as you can."

Tsuna rolled his eyes. "Aren't I doing that already? I've already told Gokudera-kun that Natsume's his boss, and Yamamoto's spending more time with him anyway. Hibari-san spars with me on a daily basis, and he's not going to take it well if I suddenly stop. More likely, he'll hunt me down on his own accord. Sasagawa-san won't stop trying to recruit me for boxing, which I can't control. And I sleep in the same room as Lambo. That problem can be fixed if you stop staying up until three screaming, or if you take Lambo into Natsu-kun's room for some 'family bonding.'"

Though Reborn remained stoically silent, Fong could feel his disapproval radiating from his tiny form. Reborn hated Lambo.

Tsuna raised a pointed eyebrow. "You see?" he said. "I can't help Natsu-kun gather his guardians for him, that's your job. At least, when he gets better at sparring, maybe then he can capture the sun's and cloud's interests. I can't change the opinions of those who are solely interested on strength. As for Lambo, what do you want me to do if you don't make concessions? I find giving him candy more rewarding than tormenting him. At the very least he doesn't cry. If Lambo appreciates it, it's not my problem. It's yours because you're so violent toward him and Natsu-kun is always around you."

"You sleep elsewhere, or leave entirely," Reborn suggested coldly.

The brunet's expression darkened. "I will leave when I am no longer welcome," Tsuna said icily, "and that is by Natsu-kun's decision. Not yours, never yours." With a sneer he stood up, making his way toward the door. "This conversation is over. If you need me, I'll be on the roof. And Fong?"

"Yes?"

Tsuna resolutely avoided Reborn's eyes. "I'm not cruel enough to strip Natsu-kun's entire world from him just for a temporary reprieve."

The door slammed shut loudly, and the two infants could feel the vibrations travel through the entire house.

"Well," Fong said mildly, "that went well."

Reborn grumbled.

"Shut up."

* * *

"You know, Reborn didn't mean it," Fong said quietly.

Tsuna stirred as the cool night breeze tugged at his hair. He loved this weather, cold and windy, and he loved the feel of having the cool wind brush against his cheeks. Aside from sparring, it was one of the few moments that he felt truly alive, instead of walking through the world in a dull robotic monotony of motions.

They were both sitting on the rooftop. Because Reborn had cancelled the nightly explosions for the day, it was silent and peaceful outside. Tsuna could get used to the silence; he hadn't had much of it ever since he had arrived at the house ten years ago. Oftentimes he felt the need to get away, to separate himself from civilization, because everything was so overwhelming and suffocating.

Fong sat beside him, watching the ground from above, listening as several flocks of birds flew overhead. Crows, Tsuna noted absently—he could barely make out the black feathers against the bespeckled night. Black against a lighter black, pockmarked with stars.

"Reborn's just frustrated," Fong continued when Tsuna said nothing. "He only has certain pieces of the puzzle that you've presented, and at times it's hard for him to sort everything out."

Tsuna twitched his lips upward. "So you're saying that telling him all my secrets will resolve the whole ordeal."

Fong shook his head, folding his hands into the sleeves of his crimson robes. "Not necessarily," he admitted. "But if you trust him enough to tell him the truth, it can go a long way."

"Trust isn't the issue," the brunet said softly, "because I can already guess how he will react."

"Hmm, and what is that?"

"Denial. Acceptance. Maybe an alliance, depending on his mood." Tsuna wrapped his arms around his knees and hugged them to his chest.

Fong raised his eyebrow inquisitively. "Oh? If it's not so bad, then why not just tell him?"

"It's not my place to tell him, and besides, it's not his time to know yet." The brunet looked off into the distance, and suddenly Fong was struck by how small and frail the teen was. No matter how much he had been through, Tsuna was still stuck in the body of a child, and the knowledge and experience in those jaded eyes was disconcerting when paired up with such a small form. It reminded Fong of Reborn and the other Arcobaleno, condemned to live as infants despite having the minds of adults.

_Arcobaleno._

Wait.

"But I will tell him eventually," Tsuna was saying with a small smile, and Fong could almost see the resemblance between Luce and Tsuna's expression, however feigned it was. Aside from Luce, Tsuna had the brightest smile that he had seen. Perhaps…

"Tsuna."

"Hm?"

"Are you an Arcobaleno?"

Tsuna gave him an odd sort of grin. Keeping his gaze fixated on the infant, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small orange drawstring bag.

Fong peered at it curiously, and with a nod from Tsuna, he carefully took the silken pouch into his hands. Something was inside it, something small and hard, and he turned it over in his hands a few times before looking back up at Tsuna. "What is this?"

"Open it," Tsuna invited.

With small stubby fingers Fong managed to free the strings, reaching into the bag with utmost care. His eyes widened as his fingers brushed against the cool surface within. At another nod from Tsuna, he turned the bag upside down and allowed the object to fall into his hand.

Fong's pacifier glowed a soft red as Tsuna's orange pacifier shone for the world to see, and with a quiet reverence he gave the next boss of the Arcobaleno a respectful dip of his head. He didn't notice the flicker of black as Tsuna stowed the chains away. All he knew was that somewhere a floor below, Reborn was watching his own pacifier pulse yellow, unaware of what was happening just a few feet above.

* * *

Thankfully, Fong continued to act the same after the conversation on the roof. Tsuna was grateful for it, because he didn't know what he would do if Fong suddenly started to bow head-over-heels now that he assumed that Tsuna was his boss. Nothing seemed to have changed, although occasionally Tsuna caught Fong watching him pensively, but that was normal. Fong tended to watch him in a similar manner before, although now, it was most likely for different reasons.

Surprisingly, Fong hadn't told Reborn about Tsuna's new 'status'—which was a surprise, Tsuna thought, because he had given express permission. Before they had left the rooftop, Fong had asked, "Should I tell Reborn?" to which Tsuna had answered, "What you do with the knowledge is up to you." It seemed like Fong felt that not divulging the information was in Reborn's best interests—at least, not yet. Not after the recent argument.

Later, the following morning, Tsuna had eavesdropped on a conversation between the sun and storm Arcobaleno.

"My pacifier shone last night," Reborn said brusquely, skipping all pleasantries.

Fong nodded his head understandingly. "Ah, that's right. I went out to get some tea, and when I returned into range my pacifier reacted again. The tea works wonders on calming me down. Would you like some?"

After declining, Reborn didn't mention the incident again. He wasn't fond of tea, after all.

* * *

As a whole, the evening started off peacefully enough, if one disregarded the general din that Lambo and I-pin routinely caused. Bianchi lounged around as usual, having nothing venomous to cook, and Natsume decided to spend that time trying to find his nonexistent books. Tsuna wasn't sure if Reborn had truly discarded them or not, but if not then they were well-hidden. In the end he had joined the fruitless search after being badgered endlessly by Natsume.

So none of them had anticipated the doorbell that rang through the night like a trumpet in the silence. None of them had anticipated the trouble that one man could bring. Giving Tsuna a perplexed look, Nana quickly changed out of her apron and hurried to the door, and from the stairs he could hear her gasp of surprise.

"Why are you here?" she asked, caught completely unprepared.

Tsuna closed his eyes as his hyper intuition flared.

Iemitsu had arrived.


End file.
